


A Pirate's Journey

by StrawHatMonkeyDLuffy



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-11-07 22:06:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17968907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawHatMonkeyDLuffy/pseuds/StrawHatMonkeyDLuffy
Summary: What if the marines found out about Ace a lot earlier than canon? Their home wrecked and burnt to the ground, Ace and Luffy are saved by someone unexpected. Watch a different Luffy on his journey to become the Pirate King.





	1. Chapter 1

Sabo pushed Luffy behind him as he watched the commotion around him. Everything he could see was on fire. Magma flowed on the ground like river burning everything in its wake. His eyes moved to his other brother in all but blood and found him facing a bulky looking man with a scarred right cheek. The man was dressed in marine uniform and was dripping magma down his hand as if it was nothing. The villagers were scrambling around, trying to get away from the 'magma demon' screeching about how unfair it was for marines to attack their village.

Ace stared defiantly at the man who was feeling glee as he burned the citizens and the village away. Cursing, he continued to shout at him to stop this nonsense and leave them the hell alone.

"ACE! Come back here!" Luffy shouted from behind Sabo fearing for his elder brother, his nii-chan. He shuddered as he looked at the scary marine and wondered where his jii-chan was at present. 'Is this what the marines are supposed to do?' He thought disgusted.

"Hoo... who is this brat, eh?" The man dressed in a floral shirt and red suit spoke out loud. This man, that wore the marine outfit and a cap to go by, was the reason for the devastation of their village. This man was known as Akainu, a man who ate Magu Magu no mi.

"SHUT UP! LEAVE LUFFY OUT OF IT!" Ace shouted and unintentionally let out a small burst of Conqueror's Haki, rendering a large population of marine's useless as they fainted and fell on the ground, rather pathetically.

Akainu stared at the boy with interest and in all this did not noticed how his Magma dripped from his arm and flowed towards a canister. Now, in general, it would be no big deal. But, today, right before the marines stormed the village, a bunch of good-for-nothing goons were carrying around gun powder, taking it to the Gray Terminal. As they saw the marines, they left their barrel's behind and escaped with their tails between their legs like a lost puppy.

Sabo watched in horror as the magma made contact with the canister that blew up, pushing everyone back. Sabo pushed Luffy back who cried out for Ace. The trio flew off in the different directions, the explosion so close to Sabo as it burned his face. He screamed as he fell in the river, landing on a plank of wood.

Ace was thrown away by the explosion in the direction close to Luffy. He landed near the shore of a river, still far away from Sabo.

Luffy watched in shock as Sabo pushed him back, shielding him from the explosion. He looked up as he was flying in the air to notice a tree. 'A branch' his mind supplied as he stretched his hand to grab on to it, pulling himself up as he landed perfectly, thanks to his Devil Fruit powers. Sighing in relief, he climbed down the tree and looked around for any indications of where he was. Stumbling around, he kept looking for his brothers, not shouting for the fear of marines finding him because of that. As he reached the shore of the river, he noticed Ace passed out. He ran towards him, kneeling beside his brother as he shook him slowly,

"Ace... ne Ace, answer me!" He looked around, pulling some water from the river and sprinkling it on Ace's face in hopes to wake him up. That did not work for him at all and he too passed out next to his brother on the shore.

***Meanwhile***

While all the commotion was going around in the Foosha Village, a man was traveling in a small boat towards the same village. Leaning against the railing of his small boat, he cursed his captain - ex-captain - as he tilted his flask and took a gulp of his alcohol. Ever since his captain had died, he had been looking for his captain's child. Finally, after a long search, he got a lead and explored it all he can.

He scoffed as he stared at the sky, "What the hell were you thinking, partner? Giving your child up to a marine? Hah! He will be executed if word gets out" Clicking his tongue, he turned around to stare at the island he was traveling to. Cursing as his eyes caught the fire, he looked around. Searching around for some time, he finally found two boys passed out near the shore. As he stared at the elder boy, he can see the resemblance with his Captain and his wife. Picking the two up, he carried them towards his ship, retreating from the island. Letting the two boys rest in a room, he steered the ship, navigating it towards the Calm Belt, knowing they will be safer over there.

***Next Day***

Luffy woke up before Ace and looked around in confusion. He remembered he had fallen asleep near the shore and not in a room. 'Was it all a dream?' he wondered but shook his head at the thought. This was not his usual room at Dadan's country. He looked towards his side to find Ace sleeping and covered in a flimsy blanket. Standing up, he made way towards the door, hesitating before pushing it open. He soon found himself face to face with a man.

"Ho... you're up already?" The man questioned and smiled at the boy and Luffy unconsciously relaxed around the man. "I am Silvers Rayleigh. I found you and your brother near the shore passed out. Can you tell me who you are, boy? And what happened?"

Luffy hesitated as he turned his head to look at his brother and then at the man. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy."

"Garp's grandson, eh?" Rayleigh looked at the boy as realization dawned on him as he processed who this boy actually is. "Well, I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"You know my jii-chan?" Luffy questioned, his eyes wide.

"I know a lot more people from your family than just your jii-chan, brat" Rayleigh answered. "Now, tell me what happened."

"Er..." Luffy hesitated before he looked back at his brother and then at Rayleigh, "Marines destroyed our village searching for someone"

"And that someone was that brat with you, right, brat?" Rayleigh questioned.

Luffy looked at Rayleigh with his eyes wide, his mouth moving but no sound coming from it, "H-How did you know about it?" he questioned.

"I know who he is, brat. I was coming to get him before. He is, after all, his captain's son, Gol D. Ace"

Luffy looked at the man in shock as the meaning of those words registered in his mind. 'This man was the part of Pirate King's crew!' He gasped as he continued to stare at the man, his mouth hanging low.

Rayleigh laughed at the shocked expression on the boy's face, his hand slapping his knee. As he gained control again, he smiled at the boy, asking him to follow him. As Luffy followed Rayleigh around, he looked around the ship. He soon found himself leaning against the railing with Rayleigh as the older man asked if he wanted to know about his family.

Luffy stared at the man eagerly, wanting to know more about his family. Rayleigh started to tell the boy about his father, Monkey D. Luffy and his mother, Gol D. Rose. To find he was related to Ace was shocking for the young boy. The Dark King continues to tell the boy who his parents were.

"Your father, Monkey D. Dragon, is a revolutionary. Their leader. He actively works against the world nobles, releasing the slaves from slavery. Many join him in his venture to free the other slaves. Some leave to start their lives afresh. Now, I do not know much about your father. He is a very secretive man. About your mother though, I can tell you about her a lot. She was my Captain's younger sister. The head cook on our ship and a very, very dangerous woman." And so they spend their time as Luffy listened to the stories about his mother.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that Ace heard when he woke up was, 'How are you doing?'. "I'm-" He started to reply but stopped short as he got more aware of his surroundings. By the looks of it, he was in a room and judging by how the place was rocking, he gathered that he was in a boat. He looked down to see himself covered in a flimsy blanket, not much warm but it will do with the climate. He turned his head looking for the source of that voice and found a mature man with blonde hair who was looking at him amusedly. "Who are you? Where are my brothers? What happened to them?" He rapid fired the questions as his head continued to turn around looking for his brothers.

"ACE!" he heard the cry of his younger brother who barged into the room and hugged him tightly, his rubbery hands wrapping around his midsection.

"Luffy!" he mumbled in relief as he wrapped his own hands around his brother, pulling the seven-year-old on his lap, hugging him tightly. Pulling back after a few moments as he continued to look around, "Where's Sabo?" he questioned.

Rayleigh looked at his captain's son and smiled at him sadly, "I found just the two of you. There wasn't a third boy."

Ace felt his heart constrict at the thought of something happening to his other brother as he pulled his younger brother closer to him. "Rayleigh did not know what happened to Sabo. But I'm sure he's alive, Ace! Sabo is strong. Just like you!" Luffy smiled at the brown-haired boy.

"He is, yes. We can't go back to the island just yet, but we will find him, yes?" Ace spoke with a sliver of hope as Luffy nodded at him with his usual smile. "So?" Ace turned at the man Luffy identified as 'Rayleigh', "Who are you?" he questioned.

"I'm Rayleigh. Silvers Rayleigh. The former right hand of your father." Rayleigh answered and put his hand up when he saw Ace trying to speak, "Let me speak first. I know you do not have a very nice opinion of your father. Not that I blame you, of course. Tell me, boy, does everyone in your village have a nice opinion of your brother, eh?" Rayleigh questioned.

Ace looked at him with a scowl on his face, "Of course they do! Luffy's the sweetest person, no matter how weak he may be"

"That's not true, Ace! Bluejam and his group do not have a good opinion of me! Or about you and Sabo!" Luffy shook his head at his brother - cousin.

"You won't always find people who will have a good opinion about you, Ace. There will be those who are your enemies. There will be those who will be your friends, your family. Each of them is entitled to hold their own opinion about you. You can't change it. That's just how it is. It was just your bad luck to have encountered those who had nothing to say but bad things about your father. Have you ever wondered why they had that opinion? Roger left One Piece, hidden and led the lot of them to the Grand Line. Perhaps he did some good in hiding the treasure. Perhaps he did not. No one will know what it was. And everyone is entitled to their own opinion."

"He still left me and my mom behind. Why would he do so? He was the Pirate King! He eluded the marines for so long! How was he even captured?!" Ace questioned.

"He was not captured, Ace" Rayleigh turned towards the window in the room and stared out at the sea, "He gave himself up."

"W-What?!" Ace looked at the man in shock, his mouth opened wide as he stared at the man in front of him, "Why the hell would he do it?!" Ace thundered as he questioned the man.

"Why do you think he did that, Ace?" Rayleigh questioned as he turned towards the young boy and smiled at him sadly, "A year before Roger conquered the Grand Line, he fell ill. The medics at that time was not as strong as it is now. We consulted a lot of doctors but none were able to cure him. Then we met one who said he could temporary heal him. Subdue his illness for some time. But he will die nonetheless. It was not something we could control, you see. So, even though he was ill, he went for our last adventure. We sailed the Grand Line and finally reached Raftel. Sometime later, under our Captain's orders, our crew disbanded. We all went our own way. Now, sometime later, your father had married your mother and she was expecting. You were about to be born. Why do you think your father gave himself up, Ace?" Rayleigh questioned the boy again.

"He gave himself up for me." Ace whispered as realization dawned upon him. "He gave himself up so as to draw the attention of the marines towards him. Away from me. Away from my mother." Ace whimpered as Luffy hugged him as he realized how wrong he had been about his father. He realized how much his father had loved him and shed tears for all the time he had thought otherwise.

"Pull your head up brat!" Rayleigh spoke in a stern tone. "Yes, he died. He was dying anyway. He chooses to die while saving your ass. But that is all in the past. You will not be throwing this life away that your father died for. You two will be staying with me. We will start training soon. Get ready. You want to be pirates, eh? I will have you kicking asses by the time you finally leave my care!" And with that Rayleigh left the room in the boat.

***Meanwhile on another ship***

Monkey D. Dragon had been visiting Dawn Island when the Foosha Village had been attacked by the marines. As he was moving back towards his own ship, he saw a child slipping down from a wooden plank and drown in the sea. He caught the hand of the young boy, pulling him up. As he surveyed the young blonde, the boy had some bad scarring on his face as it seemed to be burnt. Deciding to take the boy with himself, he made his way towards his ship o find Ivankov rolling around the deck.

"Dragon? Who is this boy with you?" the okama questioned his Leader.

"I found him slipping down from a wooden plank into the ocean, Ivankov. I got him just in time. He seemed to be badly injured. Call the doctors." Dragon ordered and told the others to depart from this island. He handed the blond child to a doctor and turned to stare at the burning island. His thought wandered to the young child his wife had handed him after his birth. He wondered if he was safe? If his father had taken the innocent child away from this nightmare? He does not know. All he could do was hope for his child, his Luffy to be well.

A few days passed on the ship as they made their way towards Baltigo. The young blond that Dragon had found was still asleep, his left eye bandaged up. Suddenly, he heard the voice of one of the members of the revolutionary army and turned towards the said member. "Dragon-san, he's awake" The member informed him. Dragon nodded at the man and made his way in the infirmary and watched the crowd gathered around the child.

"Wh-Where am I?" The child questioned as Dragon made his way towards the middle of the gathering as he stared at the boy.

"You're on our ship, boy." Dragon answered, "You were about to drown when I found you. What's your name child? Can you tell us what happened?" he questioned.

"I-I-" the child stuttered, his hand clutching his head tightly as he groaned.

"Where are you from, boy?" Ivankov questioned looking at the confused boy.

"I don't know" The child answered after some time as he looked down to stare at his lap.

"Are you Sabo?" A member of the revolutionary army questioned as he held up the handkerchief which had 'Sabo' embroidered on it.

"I don't know" the boy replied, thoroughly confused.

The members of the revolutionary army shared a worried look before Ivankov spoke, "We can't have a boy on our ship, Dragon! This is not a place for children."

"I do know that, Ivankov." Dragon answered and then turned towards the boy, "The island we found you near was attacked and not safe to return to. How do you feel about the world nobles, boy?" Dragon questioned the boy.

The child does not know why but his blood ran cold when he heard the word, 'world nobles'. He felt immense hatred filling him up as he stared at the tattoed man defiantly, "I do not like them. They all think they are above everyone else! Everyone should have the same rights. Everyone should be free to do what they want to do!"

"You will fit right in with us." Dragon smiled at the boy, "We are the revolutionary army. While I do agree with my comrade that our ship is no place for children, we do train young children such as you so that if one day you want to join our cause then you can. Would you like to come with us, boy?" Dragon questioned that earned a very eager nod from the boy. "Now, since we have no idea about who you are, we will go with calling you Sabo. Does it suit you, boy?"

"Um hmm" The boy nodded at the man with a small smile.

"Good to have you join us, Sabo."


	3. Chapter 3

***7 years later***

Luffy was standing on the shore of Grove 41 of the Saboady Archipelago. He looked at his cousin, his brother in all but blood, as he drifted away from the shore on a small boat. He stood on the shore with his 'uncle' Rayleigh and Shakky as he waved at his freckled brother.

"See ya, ACE!" he shouted, sporting his usual 'D' smile.

The brown-haired, freckled boy turned towards Luffy. Ace wore an open-front shirt, black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. On Ace's left arm, he wore a Log Pose and a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, an orange elbow guard, and his "ASCE" tattoo. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung downsides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.

"We will meet again, Luffy! Try not to get eaten by animals anymore!" Ace smirked at his brother, laughing at the scowling face his brother responded him with.

Luffy clicked his tongue as he scowled at his brother, "I'm not the same boy from the Foosha, Ace! Try not to take on the first yonko you come across!" Luffy grinned back at his brother knowing that is what he will do at the first opportunity.

"Just you wait! I will make a name for myself, Luffy!"

The group of three people watched as the brown-haired boy left to begin his journey. Luffy moved his hand towards his hat, his fingers tracing the Vivre card sewed on the ribbon as his eyes watered. 'I will miss you, Nii-chan' Luffy thought as he waved at his brother until he couldn't see him anymore. Turning towards Rayleigh, he smiled at him widely and hopped on a dinghy, "Jaa, I will see you later, Rayleigh. I am going to make a stop at Amazon Lily and then go back to Rusukaina to train. See ya!"

He pulled up at the paddles and started to paddle the boat until he came across a sea king. Grinning, Luffy let out a small burst of Conqueror's Haki and relaxed on the boat while the sea king pulled the boat on towards Amazon Lily. As he relaxed on the boat, his mind wandered to the time when Rayleigh, Ace and he had found the three slave girls running on Saboady.

***Flashback***

Rayleigh, Ace, and Luffy were walking around on the Saboady Archipelago, Grove 34, after an intense training session. Their morning started as usual. Rayleigh had the boys running around each grove, covering each inch of their boundary at least 5 times. After the running session, Rayleigh had taken the boys to Grove 33, a well known unlawful area and let the brats loose. The two moved into their fighting stance and started to pick up fights with the Paradise pirates, taking them down one after the other. Rayleigh stood back as he observed the two fighting against the grown men. He had restricted Luffy to use only his Observation Haki and Ace to use his Armament Haki, both of their weakest point. He continued to observe their improvement and smiled. After the two had successfully taken down 5 pirate crews, he called for a break. They had started to make their way towards the Grove 13 and were currently on Grove 33.

While the trio was walking, they looked at the commotion going around. Then they noticed a group of three girls running towards their direction. From their appearance, they gathered that they were former slaves who had escaped the clutches of their masters, probably because of Fisher Tiger. They watched as the trio stumbled and fell on the ground, each breathing heavily. They shared a worried look and approached the girls while people watched and started to whisper around. Luffy growled low at the onlookers and made his way towards the black-haired girl, kneeling in front of her.

"Miss? Are you alright?" Luffy questioned as he helped her up only for the girl to flinch and pull away from him.

"Get away from me, male!" The girl scowled before she fell forward, losing her consciousness. The other two girls had also fainted and laid on the ground. Rayleigh put his hand against their foreheads and frowned.

"They are running a very high fever. Pull them up, boys. We are taking them with us." Rayleigh ordered the two as he pulled the orange-haired girl up. Ace carried the green-haired girl while Luffy carried the black-haired girl. The trio carried the girls to Shakky's rip-off bar.

Settling the girls into Ace and Luffy's room, Shakky tended to the three. It took three days for the black-haired girl to wake up while the other two were still unconscious. Luffy was sitting in the room, reading a journal when she woke up. He looked up and smiled at the girl warmly, "Hey, you're up! You had us worried there for a bit. It's been three days since we got you here!" Luffy stood up and handed a glass of water to the girl who was looking at him owlishly.

"Wh-Why did you help us?" she questioned. In her experience, men were the scum on earth. Always thinking they own everything. Never taking anyone's feelings into consideration. She shuddered and suppressed the urge to cry as memories of her time as a slave flooded her mind.

"Why?" Luffy tilted his head as he looked at her, "I guess because it was the right thing to do." Luffy observed the girl as a look of shock graced her beautiful features. He moved to sit beside the girl at the corner of the bed, his hand moving up to cup the girl's face, "No one deserves what happened to you. No one deserves to go through it. And if I by any chance come across someone who did go through it, I will lend them a helping hand. Because it's the right thing to do. Even if I have to face consequences."

The girl stared at Luffy in shock. Never in her life had she met a man who helped her; who lend her a helping hand and not cared about the consequences. It shocked her deeply. Moving on instinct, she threw herself at the boy, crying her heart out while the boy just put his hand around her waist and patted her back all the while whispering, 'It's alright, you're safe.'

As she calmed down, she pulled herself back and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I'm Boa Hancock." She introduced herself.

Luffy smiled at her widely, "I'm Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy."

That was the day the girl who will one day be called the 'Pirate Empress' fell in love with the kind-hearted boy. Of course, being Luffy, he was as oblivious to it as ever.

Well... not until Rayleigh took him aside and gave him 'The Talk'. He could never look at her the same.

***Flashback End***

As Luffy approached the Amazon Lily, he was greeted with the usual group of women. He smiled at them, waving at those he personally knew and asked the sea king to stop. As he hopped out of the boat, he was pulled into an embrace by the Pirate Empress, her head reaching his chest, even though he was younger than her. Training with Rayleigh and Ace had really paid him off well.

"Luffy!" she wrapped her hands around his midsection tighter as she smiled up at him, "I've missed you so much. How are you doing?" Sonia and Marie were standing behind her and shaking their head at their hopelessly in love sister. Her H-cup breasts were pressed against his chest as he wore a front-open vest for the day. She wore a revealing red blouse that showed much of her chest and a loose sarong that exposed her long, slender legs with the green symbol of the Kuja adorned on it.

Luffy pulled her back as he smiled at her widely, "I'm doing well, as you can see. I came to meet my favorite girls before I go back to training."

"Ahh! Really, Luffy? You came to meet your favorite girls?" Hancock questioned, her hands moving to her flaming cheeks as she shook her head while Sonia sighed behind her sister while Marie looked on with interest as she questioned, "Does that make us your favorite girls too, eh?"

"Why of course. You three are the best." Luffy winked at them as he continued, "Always welcoming me and Ace whenever we get tired of Rusukaina. You spoil the two of us so much!" Luffy grinned. As naive as he was when younger, Rayleigh had corrupted him too much. Not to mention his friend 'Alex'. The man was a Cassanova and never seemed to shut up about girls.

"I will spoil you as much as I can, Luffy!" Hancock gushed as she wrapped her arms around Luffy's arm, "You helped us when we needed it the most. Come, I will have the feast ready for you!" And she started to drag him inside their castle. The day went as they merry around, drinking, eating and Luffy flirting with Hancock while she blushed red.

At the end of the day, the women gathered around the shore as they waved at Luffy while he departed from Amazon Lily. He ordered the Sea King to take him to Rusukaina. As he reached the island, he let go of the sea king and tied the boat at the blind spot which was usually missed by the travelers. Picking up a black trunk from the boat, he made his way to the safest place on the island and set it down. He pulled out the latest journal of his mother that he had been reading and moved his way towards a tree, far away from the 'safe place'. As he settles down to read the journal, he activated his Observation Haki. He tilted his head to the right, still reading the journal as an elephant's trunk came flying at him from the left. He then turned his head towards the left when the elephant tried to attack from the right. They continued this little dance of their before Luffy got bored of it. He coated his hand in Armament Haki, sending the elephant flying towards the other portion of the island.

Luffy sighed as he stood up, moving towards the safe place and putting the journal back in the trunk. He took a blindfold and whistled. As he stood in a clearing, he was approached by a rather large lion who looked at him thoughtfully.

"When I blindfold myself, try attacking me," Luffy told the lion as he blindfolded himself. He relaxed, focusing on his senses as the attack came. Putting on some pressure on the ground, he jumped back to avoid the paw of the lion as he reached deeper within himself. Rayleigh had told him how there were Haki users who can look into the future. He wanted to achieve that. Having perfect control on all forms of his Haki.

He wanted to be strong enough to protect everyone.

He did not want to fail the people that mattered to him. He does not want to fail like he failed Makino; like he failed Dadan.

'I will get stronger' Luffy thought as he prepared for a long training session.


	4. Chapter 4

***3 years later***

Standing in a boat that could easily house 6 persons at a time, Luffy turned towards the shore he was drifting away from. Looking at the Kuja Pirates, Rayleigh, and Shakky, he waved his hands as he shouted, "Look out for me, Rayleigh! I will become the King of the Pirates!"

"Get lost from here, brat." Rayleigh clicked his tongue and turned his head sideways before he finally smiled and thought, 'I know you can do it, Luffy'

"Luffy! I will wait for you here!" Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress also one of the seven Warlords shouted back at him, her face flushed while her sisters shook their head behind her.

Luffy grinned at the group as he finally left the Saboady Archipelago. It took him 2 hours before he reached the Calm Belt, from where he took a sea king and relaxed on the boat. He stared up at the clear light blue sky and smiled, 'Look after me, Sabo. I will start my journey from Foosha. Just like we planned.'

***A week later***

After he had made his way to Dawn Island, he looked around at the remains of his village. Letting out a sad sigh, he turned towards the coast and shouted at the top of his voice that he will be the King of Pirates. Smiling, he hopped on his boat and started to sail the weakest of the Blues, East Blue. The sea king, 'Lucchi', was pulling the boat forward while he relaxed. After some time, he sat up straighter, his legs crossed Indian-style as he activated his Observation Haki, spreading out his senses. His Haki soon latched onto a group of people that were sailing the seas. Ordering Lucchi to move towards the source, he pulled out an apple from the barrel and started to much on it slowly. The ship he was using was not big, certainly can't handle Grand Line at all, but it will make do till he finds another ship to sail on. He was thinking of cashing all the 'elite' East Blue bounties before he left for Grand Line. Not to mention, he had saved up quite an amount when Rayleigh used to make him and Ace train on Saboady. They will always take out the big pirate groups as 'training' and Luffy will hand them over to the marines, cashing in their bounties. The money was always divided between the two brothers depending on who took out who. Currently speaking, Luffy carried a total of 700,000,000 beli, locked away in the safe. Of course, he knew anyone could just come up and take it, but he doubted many were brave enough to approach a boat that is being guarded by a sea king.

He looked up and stared at the two boats, one certainly a pirate ship and another a civilian ship. And by the looks of it, it seemed like the pirates were attacking the civilian ship. He grinned as he told the sea king to wait there for him and he took off his ship using Geppo. Landing on the pirate ship, he sneaked around and started to collect all of their monies. Putting it all in a bag he carried out, he then moved towards the civilian ship and started to do the same. It was after some time that he started to feel hungry and encountered a pink haired boy. He stopped and stared at the boy, the bag on his shoulder filled with gold and beli.

"Yo! I'm Luffy. Can you tell me where I can find some food?" Luffy asked the boy cheerily.

"F-F-Food?!" the boy stuttered as he stared at the hulky boy with a straw hat. "You should leave this ship, mister! Iron Mace Alvida is currently looting it!" The boy warned Luffy.

"Iron mace Alvida, eh?" Luffy looked at the boy with an amusing look. His haki told him he was weak, utterly weak at that but the boy showed good potential. Not a lot had the audacity to speak up to him. Well, not back home. He was known as one of the fiercest bounty hunters - it was all a part of training; he would never be known as a bounty hunter! - and people were rather scared to approach him. "What's her bounty, boy?" Luffy asked the stuttering boy.

"She has a bounty of 5,000,000 beli." The boy spoke.

"Eh?!" Luffy stared at the boy, "Really? Man, this is going to be so boring" Luffy huffed, "I will be collecting her bounty. Care to show me where I can find some food?" Luffy asked.

"Collecting her bounty? Impossible!" Cobby shook his head wildly as he stared at the man, "Impossible, impossible, impossible!" and he kept of muttering that.

"Shut up!" Luffy bonked his head and stared at him, "What's your name?" he questioned.

"I'm Coby."

"Okay. Listen to me, Coby. Nothing in this world is 'impossible'" Luffy sat down on a barrel, his hunger forgotten, "If you try hard enough, you can achieve what you want. I will be cashing her bounty today. Would you like to come with me and see for yourself?"

Coby stared at Luffy with wide eyes before he nodded and took Luffy directly to Alvida. Luffy stared at the fat old hag with a raised eyebrow, wondering how the hell did she even managed to get a bounty of 5 million beli.

"Coby! What are you doing here? Did I not tell you to work and gather as many monies as you can? Huh?!" The old hag drawled before Luffy asked, "Who is this fat old hag?"

The pirates around them looked at the straw hat wearing boy with a shocked expression and started to step away from the fat hag, fearing for their lives. "Well, does not matter. I will be cashing in her bounty." Luffy grinned at the hag, his hand moving to rest on the Raiu, a nodachi which was gifted to him by Rayleigh. It was qualified to be named as a 'meito'.

"Cashing in my bounty? You don't seem to be Roronoa Zoro. Who the hell are you, brat?" Alvida questioned.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy. The man who will become the King of Pirates one day. remember the name well, you fat old hag" And within a blink of an eye, Luffy had unsheathed his sword and struck her, leaving a small gash on her front, not too deep but enough to neutralize her. The pirates around looked at him in shock and started to scurry off. Luffy turned to grin at Coby as he asked the boy, "So, what are you going to do now, Coby?"

"I-I always wanted to be a marine!" Coby shouted, his head bowing as he remembered Luffy telling he will become the King of Pirates.

"A marine, eh? Good enough. Say, I am going to Shell Town to cash in her bounty. Want to come with me? You can join the marine base over there." Luffy grinned and Coby watched him with wide eyes. He nodded eagerly and Luffy whistled. Soon enough, A boat emerged towards them with Lucchi pulling it. Coby stared at it wide-eyed as Luffy jumped on the bot, his one hand holding the bag containing the monies he looted and the other holding the passed out Alvida.

And Coby jumped after him to start his journey to become a marine.

*** Sometime later***

Luffy had taken Alvida and locked her inside one of the rooms in the boat. The boat just had 2 rooms with a kitchen and a washroom. After locking the treasure in the safe, he made his way towards the deck and laid down staring at the calm sky.

"Man, I missed East Blue so much," Luffy spoke as he continued to stare at the sky.

"Why is that so, Luffy-san?" Coby questioned, "Have you not been in East Blue for long?"

Luffy turned his head towards Coby, his hat resting on his head as he smiled at the boy, "Nope. I've not been to East Blue for the past 10 years. It's been too long for me. Say. That hag was talking about someone named 'Roronoa Zoro'. Who is he?" Luffy questioned.

"R-R-Roronoa Zoro?!" Coby stuttered and Luffy looked at the boy in amusement. "He is a monster, Luffy-san!" Coby screamed, scared shitless.

"A monster, huh?" Luffy asked intrigued.

"H-Hai. Roronoa Zoro is also known as the 'Pirate Hunter'. He's a scary person. Rumour says he's a bloodthirsty hound. He wanders around the sea and hunts down fugitives. He's the monster in the form of a man. A devil within human skin."

"Ho?" Luffy looked at Coby with interest. "Well, if he's a good guy then I will have him join my crew."

Coby looked at Luffy in shock and spend the rest of their ride to Shell Town muttering how it was impossible to recruit the Pirate Hunter.

***Later at Shell Town - Recruiting First Mate, Roronoa Zoro***

After the two had reached the Shell Town, Luffy ordered Lucchi to stay below the water while Luffy pulled the struggling Alvida out of the room he left her in. He dragged her with him towards the marine base while Luffy and Coby talked about Roronoa Zoro and the marine Captain 'Axe-hand' Morgan. That elicited some strange reactions from the civilians which Luffy laughed at while Coby pondered why they behaved the way they did when Morgan was mentioned. After cashing in Alvida's bounty, Luffy wondered out where Zoro was. Reaching out with his Haki, he extended his senses and looked for the man. Attaching to the biggest aura he could feel coming from the ground, he hopped on the wall and saw a man tied up to a post out in the open. Luffy raised his eyebrows as he looked at the man while Coby shuttered that it was Roronoa Zoro.

Luffy was impressed. Even though the aura was not as big as he had hoped, he felt it was mostly due to the weakened state of Zoro's body. He looked like he had not eaten for quite some time. He wondered how strong the man could be if he is this strong when weakened. As he was lost in his thoughts, he missed the time when a ladder landed beside him and a girl hopped in the ground, holding a rice ball for Zoro. He missed a boy coming in, babbling about prisoners and citizens helping the prisoners. He did notice a marine throwing the girl who he caught ratter effectively and set her down.

He listened to the story of the young girl and he seethed. He hated people like that. People who had too much power and instead of using it for the goodwill of the people, they exploit it and torment others.

Making up his mind, he made his way towards the ground where Zoro was held. He hopped off the wall, moving to stand right in front of the guy. He was a good guy. He remembered him eating the muddy rice ball made by the little girl. And he remembered what that girl told him. He smiled at the bounty hunter as he spoke, "I recently had an encounter with the spoiled brat of the marine captain."

Zoro clicked his tongue as he cursed the brat.

"He seems to think that he will be executing you tomorrow. Of course, me punching him could have moved your execution to today." Zoro stared at the boy with wide eyes as he mentally calculated his options, "You have quite some limited options. You can stay here like this, but you will die an outlaw. Quite a waste of life. I know you are strong. Or, I can untie you. You will have two options then. Either you can join my crew or you can leave. Either way, you will be an outlaw. You will be chased around by marines and can't go back to bounty hunting. So what will it be, Roronoa Zoro?" Luffy questioned as he stared at the man seriously.

"A pirate, eh? It does not matter. I have an ambition that I want to fulfill though." Zoro spoke. The boy in front of him looked strong.

"What is your ambition, Roronoa Zoro?"

"One day, I will become the strongest swordsman in the world. I will join you. But if by any chance you try to interfere with my dream, you will answer to my swords."

"The greatest swordsman in the world?" Luffy let out a small burst of Conqueror's Haki and watched Zoro who was unaffected, "Well, Pirate King will expect no less. Welcome to the crew, first mate, Roronoa Zoro!" Luffy grinned and he started to untie the man.

"I need to get my swords back," Zoro said.

"Swords? How many do you use?"

"Three." And Luffy wondered where the hell he kept the third sword.

"Stay here. I will get it." And Luffy took off using Geppo. He landed on the top of the statue while Zoro looked at him in shock wondering just who he had joined.

Luffy turned to look down at the statue and grinned, "What is this ugly piece of shit?" Coating his feet with the minimal amount of Haki, he tapped the statue which crumbled below his feet. He looked around and caught the sight of the brat. Taking him, he asked the brat to lead him to Zoro's swords which Helmeppo did very eagerly to save his hide. As Luffy picked up Zoro's swords, he jumped out of the window and landed back in the ground. The marines were surrounding both Zoro and Coby and looked ready to fire.

"Good grief, they are as useless as ever." Luffy sighed as he handed Zoro his swords, "Let me show you how we deal with useless people like them, Zoro." he grinned deviously while Zoro looked on, wanting to see the power of the man he was going to follow. A minute later, he felt a pressure on his mind as he watched each marine along with the captain dropping down like dead weight, fainting. Coby was kneeling on the ground breathing heavily.

"Wh-What did you do?!" Zoro questioned as he stared at the man with wide eyes.

"Their will is not strong enough," Luffy answered, his hand holding his hat on his head as he grinned at the two. "You can join the marines here, Coby. Or maybe I can help you better. Your will is strong enough. Would you like to train under a Vice Admiral?" He questioned, "Well, whatever. I will call him to get you from here. For the moment, let's go and get some food for Zoro!"

And soon the three left the marine base and headed for the restaurant. The people celebrated being free from Morgan's reign and the owner of the restaurant let them have free food. The three ate and drank till they were full when Coby finally asked him how he can train under a Vice admiral.

Luffy grinned and pulled out a secure Den-Den Mushi, dialing up a number.

"Marine Vice-Admiral Garp here. Who is it?" A rough voice spoke up.

"Yo!" Luffy grinned while the onlookers stared at him in shock.

"L-L-Luffy!" the voice stuttered while Luffy laughed out, "Where the hell are you, brat?! I've been looking for you for the past 10 years and that good-for-nothing Ace won't speak a word! Hotheaded as always. Where are you?! Tell me now, you fucking brat!" the voice thundered.

"Mou, jii-chan! speak a little softly. My ears hurt." And Luffy rubbed his ears just for show while Zoro spoke out, "Just who the hell are you?!"

"Shut up, you brat! Do you know how worried I had been for you, Ace and Sabo after that fucking incident?!"

"I've been with my uncle's first mate. He trained me well, unlike you. Well, this is not why I called you. You wanted me to be a marine, but you know I am as stubborn as my father. I will be a pirate. So, I'm leaving someone here at Shell Town you can train to be your perfect marine. His name is Coby. Come and get him, you old geezer. Ah, don't try to find  _him_  though. He was rather pissed off with uncle leaving Ace with you." And with that, he cut off the call.

"Just who the hell are you?" Zoro questioned.

"Me? I'm Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy. The man who will be the King of Pirates one day." Luffy grinned as he continued, "Welcome to the crew, First Mate, Roronoa Zoro. This is going to be one hell of a ride. We will turn this world upside down."


	5. Chapter 5

After the conversation Luffy had with Garp, he led Zoro towards their boat, hopping on it with a bag of 5 million beli. First and foremost, he went inside the room with the safe and put all the beli in it, locking it well. Moving out, he stood on the deck as Zoro pulled up the anchor. Both turning towards the port waved at Coby, marines, and civilians as Lucchi started to pull their boat away from the island.

As the island disappeared from their sight, Zoro leaned against the railing, his swords resting against his shoulders as he relaxed. Luffy had pulled out a chair and was sitting on it leisurely.

"So... captain. We don't know much about each other." Zoro stated as he stared at the bulky strawhat-wearing man in front of him.

"That we don't." Luffy nodded as he smiled at his first mate, "Well, we can always just share information. Though I don't care for my crew members past much. If they are good and loyal, that's good for me. You can ask me anything you want to, though. I won't deny you any information."

Zoro looked at his captain strangely, "You're a strange one. People generally want to know who they are taking on with them. Well, I don't care about the back story much. Just who you are what you did back there in the marine base."

Luffy hummed as he pulled an apple out of the barrel, his hand stretching to inhuman length and took a bite of it. He chuckled as he saw Zoro's large eyes staring between him and the barrel that was at the other end of the deck. "Well, you know my name already. I was 7 years old when I ate a Devil Fruit - Gomu Gomu no mi. I became a rubber man. See." Luffy held his cheek and stretched it to inhuman length before he let it go; which snapped back at its original place. "Suffice to say, bullets and cannons don't work on me. They just bounce back to wherever I want it to bounce back."

"I thought Devil Fruits were a myth" Zoro stared at his captain in shock.

"They aren't. They are much rarer here in the Blues but are very common in the Grand Line. The place is filled with Devil Fruit users." Zoro nodded at that, "No, about what I did back in the marine base. You see, when I was young, I was taken in by my uncle's first mate. He taught me everything I know now. How to fight with a sword, barehanded, getting control over my devil fruit and most importantly - Haki." Zoro looked in confusion at the last world, "This world that we live in is very wide. You will see things you never thought could be possible. The Grand Line that we know of is divided into two parts. With how strong you are, I have no doubt that you can survive in it with some training and honing your skills. But if we are talking about the second half of the Grand Line, it will be very difficult for you. You see, the second part of the Grand Line is much more dangerous than the first part. It is crucial that one learns Haki to survive there. Moving onto what Haki is. Haki is a power that lies dormant in all the world's creatures. It is not that different from the typical senses. However, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it. Broadly speaking, there are two types of Haki available to everyone, given the proper training; however, there is a third type that only a certain group of "chosen ones" are said to possess." 

"So you use this 'Haki'?" Zoro questioned.

"Using Haki is like second nature to me. My mentor used to prohibit me to use anything but my Haki when he trained me. Wait here." Luffy moved in one of the rooms and brought out a blindfold. He put the blindfold over his eyes and unsheathed his  **Raiu** , "Pull out your swords and attack me. Do not hold back." Luffy stated and relaxed.

Zoro looked at his Captain curiously and unsheathed his sword, putting his Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. " **Onigiri** " he whispered as he lunged forward to attack Luffy who stopped his attack with his Raiu. Zoro stared at the boy with wide eyes. No one had ever been able to see past his technique. Certainly not a blindfolded man. He continued to attack Luffy only for all of his attacks to be blocked by the man. Zoro finally stepped back, panting as he wondered how the hell could a blindfolded man block all his attacks.

"That was Observation Haki" Luffy explained as he pulled off his blindfold. "It basically gives you a sixth sense and let you predict where your opponent is going to attack and how. Those who master this technique can also see a few seconds in the future." Luffy sheathed his Raiu and used Armament Haki to turn his hand black. He pulled his hand up, "Try cutting it."

"Are you an idiot?! My Wado Ichimonji can very well chop it off!" Zoro screamed at the straw hat boy.

"Try" Luffy whispered as Zoro huffed. He pulled his Wado Ichimonji up and tried to strike the arm only for a 'clank' to sound and the sword not moving past it. 

"This is Armament Haki. It provides your body armor of sorts. It does not make you infallible but is a very good defense against Devil Fruit users and most things. Like, if you punch me, I won't feel any pain at all. But if you use Haki to punch me, it would very much hurt like hell." Zoro nodded at that.

"You didn't use any of these in the marine base."

"No. What I used is known as Conqueror's Haki. Not many have it. More like one in millions have it. It basically allows a user with a stronger will to overpower those with weaker wills." Luffy explained, "Depending upon how much power you put into it, you can very well make your opponent faint or put them into temporary comas." 

Zoro sat down as he absorbed everything he had learned so far. "I am in no way ready to take on Mihawk, am I?" He questioned.

"You aren't" Zoro cringed at that, "But you will." Luffy replied, "When I am done with you, you will be able to take on a fleet all by yourself."

Zoro grinned as he held his three swords and went back to sit in his older position, "So, where to now, Captain?"

"Towards Orange Town. I have a meeting scheduled with a clown" And Luffy grinned deviously while Zoro prayed for the person to be on the receiving end of his Captain's - wrath? He doesn't know. He fell asleep shortly after that.

 

***A day later***

Luffy and Zoro and recently dropped anchor at the port and were walking through the town. Luffy looked around and sighed. When Rayleigh asked him to visit the clown, he had not expected to be greeted by this. Geez, what had the clown been up to, Luffy wondered. While walking, they saw a girl running in their direction and by the looks of it, she was being chased by the pirates. Her eyes widened as she saw the two and Luffy  _knew_  she will be involving the two of them in this.

"Boss! Thank goodness you are here. Take care of them for me?" She rushed away to hide behind a building after that. 

Luffy turned and shared a look with Zoro. Zoro sighed while Luffy yawned and moved back, wanting to watch his first mate in action. Zoro turned towards the pirates and gave them a menacing look. He unsheathed his swords, putting his Wado in his mouth as he whispered, " **Santoryu - Oni giri** " He moved at a high speed and slashed the pirates who lay in the middle of the road with a downward diagonal slash on their front. Luffy whistled as he looked at the fallen pirates while the girl's eyes widened at that.

"Wow, you're really strong." She came out of her hiding spot as she stared at the green-haired swordsman. "I'm Nami." she introduced herself.

"It wasn't very nice of you to involve civilians, Nami" Luffy spoke from behind her while she looked down in shame, "Well, no matter. Why were they chasing you around anyway?" 

"Oh! I stole the map of Grand Line from them. I usually steal from the pirates." Nami explained while Luffy burst out laughing.

"Stole from the clown! Oh dear, just precious. Wanna steal more from him?" Luffy grinned at the girl, "You can keep 70% of it and leave 30% for the town"

"That leaves you with nothing. And why the hell should I leave 30% behind?!" Nami screeched.

"How do you think will the citizens of this town handle the repairs then? My mentor told me to kick his ass, so I'm going to cash in his bounty. Anyway, you are getting 7 million beli. Be happy. Let's go, Zoro." 

The two started to make their way towards the place Buggy had put his tent. Luffy stretched his hand, wrapping it around both Zoro and Nami - who had followed them - and stretched his other hand to hold the top of the roof. Grinning, he pulled the three of them up while Nami screamed 'Monster!' Luffy laughed as he landed on the roof with Zoro and Nami. Luffy looked around as the crew was partying around and saw them putting a cannonball in the canon, readying it to fire.

"Stay here." He told them as he moved to catch the canon with his bare hand. Buggy screeched about who the hell was he to stop his flashy canon. Luffy growled at Buggy, coating the canon with Armament Haki and he threw it back at them.

It wasn't until the last moment that Buggy noticed the Haki covering the ball and screamed loud. As the smoke from the explosion cleared, all the Buggy pirates were down with the exception of Buggy who was barely coherent.

"W-Why?" he murmured.

"I wish Rayleigh-san was here. He'd have kicked your fucking ass all the way to Raftel" Luffy punched the man who finally lost consciousness. While it was going around, Nami had cleared up their treasures and held two bags. "Care to carry the 30% one, Zoro?" Luffy asked as he pulled the clown up.

While they were moving in the town, they were cornered by the Mayor of the town who asked if they were pirates. Luffy explained what happened and gave the 30% bag to the mayor telling him to use it to repair the town. He then proceeded to ask where they could find a marine base. Finally getting the location, Luffy turned towards Nami.

"We are looking for a navigator. Care to join my crew?" Luffy questioned.

"Crew?" Nami looked at the straw hat boy in question.

"My pirate crew," Luffy answered.

"I hate pirates! I will not join your crew. But I don't see any reason why we can't work together." Nami smirked thinking how she will loot them.

"Deal!" Luffy grinned, "Now, cashing his bounty and then off to Syrup Village to get our sniper." 

"Why there?" Zoro questioned as they moved towards their port to find Lucchi scaring a group of three pirates with Buggy's mark. Zoro glared at the three as he unsheathed his Wado. "Can I take care of them, Captain? I'm bored."

"Sure, go ahead," Luffy answered and jumped on the boat, letting out a burst of Conqueror's Haki directed at Buggy to make sure he does not wake up. Zoro finally jumped up in the boat after beating those pirates while Nami looked at the sea king, scared. "About Syrup. I know someone from Syrup who is a great sniper. I am just hoping his son is as good as him." Luffy grinned.

"Onto the nearest marine base!" Luffy cheered as Zoro pulled up the anchor while Luffy told Nami to narrate where they need to go to Lucchi. No need to do the hard work. Nami looked at the two in apprehension before she finally gave directions to the sea king.

After Luffy had cashed in Buggy's bounty, he moved to store it all in the safe. Coming back out, he set a black and gold trunk on the deck. He then pulled out a journal from the trunk and started to read it, relaxing.

Nami stared at the two oddly. Zoro was sleeping leaning against the railing. Luffy was sitting on the chair and reading a book/journal. She moved towards where Lucchi was and stared at the wide ocean. "Relax, Nami. Even with Lucchi pulling the ship, we won't be reaching Syrup village soon. It will take about 4-5 days."

"You seem to know about navigation already. Why need a navigator?" Nami questioned.

Luffy turned the page of the journal as he answered, "Because even though I know how to navigate, I do not have the instincts of a real Navigator."

Nami nodded at it and hugged the bag she was holding. It was a total of 7 million beli. Some more and she will finally be free, she thought.

 

***4 days later***

As the trio dropped their anchor, they were greeted by the sight of a slim tan-skinned teenager with medium-length black woolly hair, prominent lips, and a long nose. The boy was shivering by the looks of it as he spoke out loud, "Stop right there, you pirates! I'm Captain Usopp of the Usopp Pirates and have a following of 80 million men! Do not try to enter this village and leave!" The boy shouted.

"Don't you mean three?" Nami questioned and a shout of 'Ah! We've been found!' came out of the bushes as three kids flew from there.

"Don't leave me alone like this!" Usopp shouted at the three boys before he turned towards the pirates and drew his slingshot, "Don't come! I will shoot you down!" he shouted.

Luffy put his hand over his hat, his hat covering his eyes as he spoke seriously, "Now that you're drawn the weapon, are you willing to put your life on the line? Weapons aren't meant to be played with after all." 

Usopp screamed as he fell on the ground, whispering, "Real pirates are scary!"

Luffy laughed out loud, "Don't worry. You're Usopp, right? Yasopp's son? We mean no harm. I am actually looking for people to join my crew" Luffy smiled at the boy.

"You know my old man?" Usopp asked, hopeful.

Luffy nodded at the boy, "He and the crew he is a part of visited my village 11 years ago. He never shut up about you." Usopp looked proud at that.

After telling Lucchi to guard the ship and take anyone out who tries to steal anything, Luffy and co made their way towards a restaurant named 'Meshi'. As they settled, they ordered food while Luffy told all he could about Yasopp to Usopp. Usopp listened with rapt attention.

"Hey, I'm looking for a sniper to join my crew. If you are as good as your father, I want you to join us!" Luffy grinned at the boy.

"M-Me?!" Usopp exclaimed as he stared at Luffy, "Why of course, you won't find a better sniper here in East Blue!" he grinned while boasting.

"Great! By the way, can you tell me where we can find a ship? I'm willing to pay, of course." Luffy interrogated.

"A ship? Well, you won't find it here in this village. But you can find one at the mansion at the top." Usopp answered before he looked at the time, "Ah! It's time already! Sorry, I had to leave!" he quickly gathered his things and left the restaurant.

Soon after Usopp left, three boys entered the restaurant looking around for him. they turned towards the trio and asked where their captain was. Luffy rested his hands on the table as he exclaimed, "Man, that was good meat!"

The boys stuttered as they asked, "Wh-What did you did to our captain?!"

Zoro turned towards the boys, his chin resting on his palm as he stared at the three with a menacing look and answered, "Your captain... was eaten" and he grinned deviously at them.

The boys finally turned towards Nami and screamed, "ONIBABA!" while Nami screeched, "Why are you looking at me?!" Luffy and Zoro burst out laughing at their reaction and finally told the boys what happened. The boys told the trio about how Kaya, the owner of the mansion, was very sick and Usopp goes there to tell lies in order to cheer the girl up. Luffy smiled at that and asked the boys to lead them towards the mansion. "Let's go in." Luffy stretched his arm, wrapping it around Zoro, Nami, and the boys and intruded the mansion, landing near the tree. "Pardon the intrusion" he spoke and stared at the girl near the window.

"Miss, are you the owner of this mansion?" Luffy questioned while Kaya nodded. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy. I'm looking for a ship to sail on with my friends. Usopp here told me that I can find it here in your care. Of course, I am ready to pay for it. Can you help me?" Luffy interrogated.

"What's happening here?" A voice came out and Luffy turned to see a man walking towards them.

"Klahadore!" Kaya exclaimed.

"Miss Kaya. You do not need to associate yourself with them." He spoke with a sneer.

"Excuse, me? We are here for business. Now if you don't mind,  _butler_ , we'd like to go back to it." Luffy sneered back at him and then turned towards Kaya, smiling at her.

"I can help you with that, Luffy-san. Merry had designed a ship long before. It's a bit old and is not used at all. I am willing to part with it at an appropriate sum." Kaya answered.

Luffy and Zoro grinned at each other while Luffy nodded at her, "Money is not a problem, Miss Kaya. Can I look at this ship?" Kaya called Merry and asked him to take Luffy and his friends to show the boat. Klahadore grumbled and left them alone while Merry showed the boat to the group.

"This is Going Merry. It is a caravel class ship" and Merry started to show them around. Luffy surveyed the ship, knowing it won't last them far in the Grand Line in its current condition. As they came out of the ship and stood next to it, Luffy finally asked what the price for the ship is. Merry answered that the ship costs 80,000,000 beli.

"That low?" Luffy questioned. "Well, I am willing to pay you 150,000,000 beli for it if you can do some modifications to it. I want a Captain's room added to it. The canons are of old model. I want you to replace them with the latest model. Also, can you replace the rudder? The wood is old and won't last as much."Luffy inquired.

"I can do that. It will take about a week or two to finish. Will it be good with you?" Merry questioned.

"Of course! I can pay half in advance for you to buy the materials and a half later." Merry nodded at that, and Luffy smiled at him widely. Then he started to cheer with Nami that they finally have their ship while Zoro smiled.

They all left the mansion and made their way towards the shore they had docked their boat. Luffy threw a key towards Zoro and asked him to take the money and give it to Kaya while he talks with Usopp. Zoro nodded at his captain and took the money out of the safe. His eyes widening, along with Nami with the amount of money in the safe. He closed the safe, putting the key safely. He still does not trust Nami, as he noticed her always staring at this room since she saw putting Buggy's bounty in there. Additionally, Luffy had also asked her to keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Luffy and Usopp were walking towards the other slope and heard Klahadore's plan. Usopp had panicked and ran towards the village to warn the villagers. When they did not believe it, he had run towards the mansion to warn Kaya, only for her to slap him and call him a liar.

While Luffy explained the situation to Zoro and Nami, Usopp came back, dejected. Luffy told him that they will protect the village and started to plan. Luffy and Usopp stayed at the slope they heard the conversation while Zoro and Nami moved to stay at the other slope.

The next morning, as none came at the slope Luffy and Usopp were guarding, Luffy used Geppo to carry Usopp towards the other slope. They were greeted with the sight of Zoro fighting the pirates and Nami cowering behind him and bonking any who came towards her with a wooden staff.

"Don't hog all the fun, Zoro" Luffy spoke as he too unsheathed his Raiu and started to cut the pirates left, right, and center. The two grinned at each other and soon, most of the crew were laying on the ground, useless.

"What the hell are you lot doing?! Captain Kuro would be angry! Look here. When I say 1, 2, Jango, you will be more powerful and defeat these kids. 1, 2, Jango!" Jango spoke and soon the pirates started to get up and attack the two teens.

Zoro scoffed as he looked at his captain. Luffy sighed as he pulled his Raiu up and slashed it in the air. The slash creating a wave of blades that slashed the pirates in front of them, each falling one by one, including Jango.

"What's happening here?!" Klahadore questioned as he came out of the clearing, only to notice his crew all defeated, including Jango. He cursed.

"Zoro, I leave him to you. He had a bounty of 16,000,000 beli. If you defeat him, you can keep the bounty all to yourself." Luffy grinned at his first mate. He had been training the man to be faster when they travel the seas. Not even a complete week in training and he was already much faster than before. His reflexives were sharper, his moves more defined than before.

"Yes, Captain," Zoro answered as he put his Wado in his mouth and stared at the man seriously.

"So I am fighting a piss poor swordsman? Tch." Kuro clicked his tongue as he stared at Zoro with a bored expression. He pulled his hand up to push his glasses in the correct position while his claws gleamed under the sunlight.

"Klahadore!" Kaya shouted from behind him, "Stop this madness!" 

"Ah, Miss Kaya. Glad you are here. You will be signing over all your money to me after I'm done with these brats." Klahadore smirked at the blonde.

"You think you can beat me so easily, eh Klahadore?" Zoro questioned while Luffy yawned. Zoro closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath before he actually opened them. Kuro was currently staring at him bored and started to move. At first, Zoro could not catch the sight of where he was, getting slashed by the claws because of that.

"Do not focus too much on catching him, Zoro. Focus on your surroundings." Luffy spoke from his spot, laying on the ground as he stared at the tree over him. 

Zoro followed the directions, his mind relaxing as he took in the voices of what's been going around him. He can hear the voice of Kaya, Usopp, and Nami shouting at him to move, to do something. He focussed more as he heard the sound of Luffy's calm breath. That was when he heard a 'swish' and turned around blocking Kuro's claws with his swords. He grinned at him as the two stepped away from each other. Luffy grinned at it while the two continued this game, with Zoro stopping Kuro every time he came to attack.

"You know, what? I think I am getting a hang of it. Now then, I guess it's time to finish it." Zoro grinned, blood trailing down his right arm from the slashes.

" **Santoryu** " Zoro whispered, his swords drawn together, " **Enbima Yonezu Oni Giri** " He finished as he slashed Kuro when he heard him approaching, cutting him, and breaking his blades. Luffy grinned at his first mate while Zoro sheathed his swords. Nami, Usopp, and Kaya looked on in shock at the two who has single-handedly taken care of the whole crew.

"Miss Kaya.  Can we get a doctor to look at Zoro's wounds? I know it's not serious, but I'd rather not take a chance of infection. Also, can you tell me where the nearest marine base is?" Luffy inquired.

"The nearest branch is Branch 9, Luffy-san. It's a few kilometers south-east from the other slope."

Luffy nodded and told Nami to take Zoro to a doctor to look at those cuts while Zoro protested. Luffy tied Kuro up and took him to the marine base, cashing in his bounty. As he came back with Lucchi, he handed the bag of money to Zoro.

"Actually Captain, can you look after it for me?" Zoro questioned.

"Sure" Luffy shrugged.

"Thanks, Captain"

It was a week and a half later, Merry informed them the modifications were all done. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami admired the ship which was still the same size but had a Captain's cabin and newer wood. While Zoro moved in their old boat to get the money to pay to Merry, Luffy heard a shout of 'Help me!'. He looked on to see Usopp rolling down the slope and pushed his leg forward to stop the sniper.

"Thank you." Usopp spoke as he dusted himself and looked towards Luffy, "Eh Luffy? Is the offer to join you still valid?" he interrogated.

"Of course, I came here looking for a sniper!"

"Aw man! Not Captain or Vice Captain?" Usopp deflated a bit while Luffy bonked him on the head with his sheathed Raiu and shouted, "NO!"

Zoro laughed at it while Nami giggled behind her hand. Handing the money over to Merry, Luffy asked Zoro to pull the safe on Going Merry.

"Why not you, Captain?" Zoro questioned.

"Ah, I can only touch its handle and the key." Luffy answered, "It's made of sea stone. Being a Devil Fruit user, it makes me weak. Rayleigh gave it to me since it can't be destroyed." Luffy explained and started to transfer their supplies from their boat to Going Merry. Zoro moved to pull the safe on Merry, with Usopp helping him a bit. 

The small group of four then turned towards Kaya and Merry and waved, "See ya!" They shouted, smiling wide.

"To our two new nakama, Usopp and Going Merry!" Luffy exclaimed while the other three cheered.


	6. Chapter 6

It's been an hour since they left the Syrup Village. Luffy had ordered Usopp to draw their pirate flag and the same symbol on the sails. After completing the work, Usopp was laying on the deck, spread out, exhausted. Luffy was sitting on Merry's head, staring out at the sky. "We need a cook" He spoke out of the air.

"With such a beautiful kitchen, we sure do need one," Nami answered.

"And a doctor" Zoro added.

Luffy nodded at that as he continued to stare out at the sea. "Say, you all are from here. I have not been to East Blue for quite some time. Know any place we can find a cook?" Luffy questioned.

The three shook their head and Luffy sighed. As they were traveling, with Lucchi swimming beside their ship, Luffy felt two auras from the small island ahead. He narrowed his eyes and asked Nami to guide them to the place. Finally stopping near the rock - island? - Luffy noticed two men, one down and barely moving, his aura too weak.

"Hey, you alright?" Luffy questioned.

Zoro had come out of the boy's room and stared at the duo, "Johnny? Yosaku?" Zoro questioned, "What happened?"

"Zoro-aniki!" Johnny exclaimed as he looked at the green-haired swordsman, "Yosaku is ill! He was fine 3 days ago. But he suddenly fell ill and I don't know what's wrong with him!" Johnny exclaimed, panicking.

"Hey, bring him on the ship" Luffy ordered as he crouched down to get a better look at him. "Usopp, there are limes in the kitchen. Make some lemon juice and give it to him."

"Scurvy?" Nami questioned.

"Scurvy" Luffy nodded and bonked Johnny on his head, "Stupid! At least have some knowledge of the sea before you sail!" Luffy sighed as he leaned against the railing, "He will be fine in 2-3 days. Continue to give him lemon juice."

Johnny bowed low at that and exclaimed, "Thank you, aniki!" while Usopp had Yosaku drink the cup of lemon juice.

"And that's why we need a cook before we add another member on our crew." Luffy sighed as he stared at Yosaku who was gaining consciousness slowly.

As soon as the man gained consciousness, he stood up dancing that he was cured with Johnny and Usopp joining him in the dance. Nami screeched at them that Scurvy is not cured so fast. The two then introduced themselves as Johnny and Yosaku as bounty hunters who used to work with Zoro in the past. Soon after the introduction, Yosaku fell down again, bleeding while Zoro shouted at them to rest the fuck up.

"You sure had some funny friends, Zoro" Luffy smirked while Zoro sighed.

"Aniki!" Johnny exclaimed as he raised his hand while the others looked at him with a bored expression.

"What is it?" Zoro questioned.

"If you are looking for a chef, I can recommend a place." Johnny answered, "Though I'm not sure one would join. There's a sea restaurant known as Baratie. You can find fighting cooks over there." Johnny explained while the group cheered, "It will take about 2-3 days to reach there." He finally turned towards Zoro, "I've heard rumors of a certain hawk-eye man sailing around the water over there."

Luffy turned his sharp eyes towards Zoro and narrowed his eyes, "Zoro."

"You promised, Captain." Zoro countered the hidden threat.

"Just..." Luffy sighed, "Don't die. I do not want to look for another first mate."

"I can't promise that." Luffy sighed as he stared at his first mate. "I will kill you if you die, baka!" And he stormed in his room and laid down on his bed, staring at the wooden ceiling.

 

***3 days later***

Johnny exclaimed as the floating restaurant finally came into their sights. While the small crew admired the floating restaurant, they soon noticed a marine ship sailing around. Usopp and Nami hugged each other as the marined shifted their canons towards Merry. Luffy looked on bored as he yawned. He shared a look with Zoro who shrugged at him. The man had been training as hard as he can since Johnny had told him about Hawk-eye when they first encountered them. Luffy whistled and Lucchi came out of the water and stared down at the marines. 'Take them down' Luffy ordered and so, the marine ship sank as large holes appeared in different parts of the ship.

"Let's go get ourselves a cook!" Luffy grinned and the small group made their way towards the Baratie. They sat down and soon were greeted by a blonde waiter.

"Hello, I am Sanji, the Assistant Head Chef of this floating restaurant, Baratie. Sorry, we are a bit short on the staff at the moment. Might I ask how you will be paying us?" Sanji inquired.

"With money of course," Luffy answered.

"Great. Now-" Sanji was interrupted when a seething Fullbody stormed in the restaurant and slapped his hands on the table. 

"You people sank my ship! Do you even know who I am?!" He screeched at the group while Sanji looked at him in distaste.

"Did we? If I remember correctly, it was a sea king who did that. Surely you don't say that us mere pirates can control a sea king?" Luffy inquired while Nami giggled behind her hand.

"You bastard!" Fullbody screamed and was about to attack the group when Sanji kicked him aside.

"Now, I was asking what you would like to have. Sorry that you were bothered by trash like that." Sanji spoke.

"Ah, no worries." Luffy smiled and admired at the way Sanji kicked the marine aside. Soon, the group had ordered their food. Fullbody soon returned and asked Sanji if he knew who he was. He went around screeching about how he was a marine and he will be arresting this group of pirates.

Luffy looked at the man in distaste and yawned loudly. Fullbody turned his glare towards the straw-hatted boy only to be kicked aside by Sanji again.

"We serve everyone on this sea, be it a marine, pirate, or a civilian. You can arrest them later if you want. If you have nothing to order here, I suggest you leave and let customers eat." Sanji sneered and made his way towards the kitchen to prepare their food.

After a while when Fullbody was nursing his wounds, a marine officer barged in and spoke terrified, "I'm very sorry sir, but our captive has escaped! Kreig's crewman has escaped! Even the seven of us can't stop him."

Soon the shouts of 'Kreig's pirates?!' and 'He's the strongest in East Blue' started to fill the restaurant.

Luffy looked around and asked, "Grand Line drop out?" 

The owner that had come out and looked at the boy, "Know about him?" he inquired.

"I heard whispers of him disturbing Mihawk's nap." Luffy shrugged while his group looked at him strangely.

The owner laughed out loud and soon everyone heard the sound of a gunshot. The customers screamed and the marine that reported the escape fell down with blood flowing down from his back.

A lithe man stumbled in the restaurant and sat on the chair. "Just bring me anything to eat." He ordered, "This is a restaurant, right?"

Patty made his way towards the man and inquired, "I'm most sorry moron, but do you have any money?"

"Do you accept lead?" The man questioned and pulled out a pistol.

At this, Patty slammed his fists on the man's head and spoke, "If you don't have any money, then you are not our customer." And he kicked the man out of the restaurant while the customers cheered. Luffy looked on and he saw the blonde cook who had served them move towards the kitchen. He smiled and made his way out of the restaurant and watched Sanji offer food to the man. At first, the man refused the charity but soon took the food, telling how delicious it was. 

Luffy smiled as he sat down on the railing, "Hey, you! Join my crew!" He grinned at Sanji. "Please become my pirate chef!"

"What?" Sanji looked at the straw-hatted boy in shock.

"So you're a pirate, eh?" Gin questioned.

"Yep." Luffy grinned and turned towards Sanji, "Ne, join us!"

"Sorry," Sanji answered, "I have a reason to stay here"

"No! I refuse your refusal." Luffy grinned.

"W-What?" Sanji sweatdropped at that and looked at the boy in confusion.

"Sorry I am interrupting." Gin spoke, "I am Gin of the Kreig pirates. Might I ask what your goal is, boy?" he inquired.

"My goal is One Piece" Luffy smiled  up at the sky, "That's why I and my crew will be heading to the Grand Line."

"Don't go to the Grand Line! Do not throw your life away. Us, Kreig pirates had the greatest numbers in the East Blue. We could not even survive in the Grand Line for a week." Gin requested.

"Wow, you're really weak!" Luffy exclaimed, "Well, I guess it was mostly bad luck for you guys. You encountered Hawk-eye Mihawk and disturbed his sleep. Anyways, I have already spent my last 10 years in Grand Line. I can handle myself. Also, it does not matter how many members you have in a crew in the Grand Line. If you're not strong enough, you will lose. It's as simple as that."

Gin looked at the boy in shock and soon the owner of the restaurant was staring down at them from the floor above. He asked Sanji if he let another customer eat for free. Luffy questioned who ate for free and threw a beli at the owner. The owner smiled and went back inside while Gin thanked the boy before leaving.

As Luffy went back in to join his group, he exclaimed he had found the perfect cook for their ship. Zoro grinned at him and soon Luffy noticed that Nami was missing. 

"Where's Nami?" Luffy questioned.

"She just went to the ship with Johnny and Yosaku," Zoro answered.

They stayed there for a few more days. As they were eating, Zoro watched Luffy tense up and turned towards the restaurant's door. The door was slammed open by a bulky man who kneels and asked for food, saying they have money. Patty soon identified him as Don Kreig and answered that they will never give him food and asked the patrons to call for the marines. The pirate pleaded, telling them he had money which was ignored by Patty who continued to ask the patrons to call the marines. Sanji moved towards the kitchen and came back to set the food in front of him.

"Sanji, you bastard! Why would you give him food?!" Patty screeched while the other chefs agreed with him.

"I will give food to anyone who comes here. But if they try to harm this restaurant after that, I won't let them go." And he kicked Kreig who had started to go off about how he will be taking over this ship.

The owner soon came and set down a big bag filled with food while the chefs exclaimed, "Owner Zeff!"

"Shut up, you lot! Had anyone of you ever had to starve on this wide sea? No? That's the difference between you and Sanji. We will give them food. But I don't care what you do with them afterward." Zeff shouted at them.

"Zeff, they say? Red-leg Zeff?" Luffy questioned.

Zeff turned towards the boy and cocked his eyebrow up, "You know of me, brat?"

"You get to know a lot about pirates if you had been to Grand Line. The only pirate to ever survive in the Grand Line for one whole year. The Red-leg Zeff." Luffy smiled, "I've heard a lot about you."

Luffy soon tensed and felt the boat rocking hard. The patrons all made their way out while Zoro gripped his swords. The Kreig ship was cut in two parts while Mihawk was sitting on his boat calmly.

"Y-You!" Kreig stuttered, "You followed us all the way here? What did we ever do to you?!" Kreig questioned.

"Disturbed his nap most likely." Luffy answered as he sat on the railing, his legs swinging, "Yo!" He pulled his hand up to wave at the swordsman.

"What are you doing here, brat?" Mihawk questioned.

"Gathering my crew." Luffy grinned, "Got quite some good ones too. How's Grand Line been these past weeks, Uncle Mihawk?" 

"Stop calling me that, you brat!" Mihawk shouted while Luffy admired Mihawk's work on Kreig's ship.

"Ah, still the most beautiful attack of yours." Luffy sighed as he unsheathed his Raiu and sliced the ship the same way while the patrons and cooks exclaimed, 'What type of monsters are they?!'

"Aniki!" A shout came from below and Luffy looked down at Johnny and Yosaku swimming in the ocean.

"Huh? What are you both doing here?" Luffy questioned.

"Luffy-aniki! Big problem! Nami-aniki took her money and left on a small boat when Lucchi didn't allow her to take Merry!" Yosaku shouted.

"You seem to be having some problems, Luffy." Mihawk smirked, "Troubles in the crew?"

"Shut up!" Luffy glared at the man.

"Do you know where she is heading?" Luffy asked.

"No." 

Luffy sighed as he looked at them, "Zoro won't be leaving. Take Usopp and follow her on Merry. Ask Lucchi to stay back here." Luffy ordered the three as they moved towards Merry.

"You bastard!" Kreig exclaimed as he shot at Mihawk, only for none of the bullets to hit him. "W-What?!" he stuttered.

"No matter how many times you try" Zoro stated, "You will miss shooting. He uses his swords to change the course of the bullets." Zoro answered, "I've never seen someone with such a gentle skill before." 

"If a sword doesn't have gentleness, it's not strong" Mihawk answered.

Zoro then moved forward and asked the man to fight him. Luffy turned towards Mihawk and said, "I want him back alive, Mihawk." His voice was deadly serious.

"I can't promise that, Luffy," Mihawk answered.

Zoro watched in shock as Mihawk pulled out a small knife to fight him. Zoro sprang forward as he shouted  **Oni giri** only for Mihawh to stop the attack with his smallest knife. Zoro looked on in shock as did Johnny and Yosaku who exclaimed none had ever stopped his attack. Zoro continued to attack him again and again, only for Mihawk to block his attacks every single time. Johnny and Yosaku shouted at him to stop joking around, pulling their swords out only for Luffy to stop them, his own hand resting on his Raiu. As Zoro moved to attack again, Mihawk's knife pierced him, close to his heart. Zoro stopped, not moving an inch.

"Do you want this knife to go through your heart? Why aren't you stepping back?" Mihawk questioned.

"I... I don't know.  I feel if I step back, I will break my promise. And I will not be able to stand here again." Zoro answered in pain.

"That's right." Mihawk answered, "It's called losing."

Zoro laughed and said that's why he can't step back.

"Even if it means losing your life?" Mihawk questioned.

"If I have to lose, I'd rather die," Zoro answered as Mihawk pulled his knife back. "Tell me your name kid," Mihawk questioned.

"Roronoa Zoro," Zoro answered as he pulled his swords up.

"I will remember that. I haven't met someone with such a strong will before. And so, I will end it with the black sword, the strongest sword in the world." Mihawk pulled his sword.

Zoro moved for his final attack and murmured  **Three Thousand Worlds**  only for Mihawk to strike with his sword, breaking Zoro's two swords in the process. "I lose," Zoro whispered and turned around, his hands spread wide, "Wounds on the back are the swordsman greatest shame" Zoro answered as Mihawk smiled at him before slashing him on his chest.

"Zoro-aniki!" Johnny and Yosaku screamed as he fell in the ocean and pulled him up on their small boat.

"Mihawk, you bastard!" Luffy screamed.

"He's still alive" Hawk-eye answered, "I am Dracule Mihawk. It is too soon for you to die. Learn about this world and discover your true self. Become stronger. No matter how many years pass, I shall still hold this title and will be waiting for you. Have your goal changed, Luffy?"

"Still the same as ever," Luffy answered as he glared at the swordsman.

Mihawk smirked as he stared at the straw-hatted boy, "He really corrupted you, that red-haired bastard."

"Oi!" Luffy shouted.

"It will be harder than him for you to achieve your goal."

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted from the boat, his sword drawn up, "Can you hear me?" he inquired.

"Yeah," Luffy answered.

"I'm sorry for making you worry about me. If I can't become the invincible swordsman, you will be worried about me, right? From now on..." Zoro spoke slowly while Johnny, Yosaku and Usopp shouted at him to stop speaking, "I  WON'T LOSE TO ANYONE EVER AGAIN! Until I defeat that man and become the greatest swordsman alive. Got any problem with that, Pirate King?" 

"Nope." Luffy grinned at him and turned towards Mihawk.

"You have a good team. I will see you back in Grand Line, brat." Mihawk answered and left on his boat.

Luffy looked at the four on the small boat. "Lucchi!" he shouted.

Soon a sea king emerged from the sea and looked at Luffy while the Kreig pirates cowered at the sight of him. "Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku take Zoro and follow Nami. Lucchi. Follow after them and come back. We will follow after you then." Luffy ordered them and soon they left.

"Zeff." Luffy spoke, "If I defeat Kreig, I will be taking Sanji with me. Good enough?" 

"Oi! I told you I will not leave this place!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Good enough" Zeff answered.

"Damn you, shitty geezer! It's not for you to decide!" 

Luffy turned towards Kreig and stared at him. "17,000,000 beli bounty. We will be 17 million beli rich when we leave here. Let's get on with it. I don't have much time." Luffy unsheathed his Raiu as he slashed his blade only for the ship to sink faster. He let out a small burst of Conqueror's Haki and each and every pirate to fall unconscious. 

The chefs looked at him in shock at his skill as he turned towards Kreig.

"Brat. Where did you learn this skill? Are you really from East Blue?" Zeff questioned.

"I've spent the last 10 years in the Grand Line. Mostly near Saboady and Calm Belt. I had a really good teacher." Luffy grinned as he moved fast, his blade covered in Armament Haki as it sliced Kreig who fell on the wooden floor, unmoving. "Weak." Luffy clicked his tongue as he sheathed his sword and looked at Zeff.

The chefs started to cheer around, their restaurant was safe. Luffy questioned about the nearest marine base and holding Kreig, he left using Geppo and collected his bounty.

When he came back, the chefs were in the restaurant, sipping Sanji's soup.

 "Hey! Who made this soup this morning?!" Patty questioned.

"I made it.  It's good, isn't it?" Sanji smiled.

"It's horrible! I can't eat it! This is worse than pig's food!" Patty screamed and broke the disk while the other cooks agreed.

Soon, the fight broke between the cooks while Zeff gobbled the soup down and then continued to berate Sanj for making such garbage. Luffy looked around and saw Sanji storm out of the room. He went and took some soup and tasted it, "Hey! It's so good. Why would you say it's bad?" He questioned.

"We know," Zeff answered and Luffy felt Sanji's aura outside the door. He smirked as Zeff continued, "He is a good cook. But he will never achieve his dream if he stays here all his life. Do me a favor, brat? Take him out with you on the sea."

"Can't do that, old man. No matter how much I insist on it, if he doesn't want to come, I will not take him against his wishes." Luffy answered.

As they were talking, a sea king came up with Yosaku riding him.

"Yosaku! Where's Nami and others?" Luffy questioned.

"I only know where Nami went, Luffy-aniki. If our estimate is right, she's headed for a very dangerous place." Yosaku answered. "I will tell you on the way. When are we leaving here?"

"I'll go with you," Sanji spoke as he leaned against the door.

"Sanji? You..." The chefs spoke while they stared at him.

"You want to become the Pirate King, right? Both of us have a crazy dream. I want to find All Blue. I will do what I want to from now on. I will become a chef on your crew. Got any problem with that, Captain?" Sanji questioned.

"None!" Luffy and Yosaku cheered.

As Sanji collected their stuff, the chefs offered them Sanji's ship and some food to take. Thanking them, Luffy tied the ship to Lucchi and waited for Sanj. As they sat on the ship, Sanji turned to kneel on the floor and thanked Zeff for taking care of him. He made his way on the ship and they finally set sail, letting Lucchi pull their ship.

While they were traveling towards the place Nami went to, Yosaku filled them on Arlong and his turf. He proceeded to tell them that a Warlord dropped Arlong here in East Blue and left.

"Shut up!" Luffy shouted at Yosaku.

"L-Luffy-aniki?" Yosaku shuttered.

"Jimbei didn't leave Arlong here in East Blue." Luffy stared at the sea as Lucchi pulled the ship, "When the former Captain of Sun Pirates, Fisher Tiger, died, there was a conflict between the members of the group. Some allied with Jimbei and continued to be a part of Sun Pirates. A small group followed Arlong who did not like to coexist with the humans. They left on their own accord. Jimbei had nothing to do with Arlong being here in East Blue." Luffy explained.

"You sure do know about a lot of things, Luffy-aniki," Yosaku exclaimed.

"I grew up in Grand Line for the past ten years. Mostly at Saboady Archipelago, the place where the first half of the Grand Line ends. It's natural I know a lot of people and about a lot of things. My mentor made sure of it."

"So? What are we going to do now?" Sanji questioned as he lit his cigarette.

"We get our navigator back. Of course, this is treason. So, she's going to pay for it after we have her back in our crew." Luffy answered as he cracked his knuckles and grinned devilishly.

 

***2 Days later***

Luffy, Sanji, and Yosaku had finally made their way to the Arlong's turf. As they had neared the island, a sea king had come up to attack them only to be taken out by Lucchi, who took him out easily. Soon Luffy had locked onto Zoro's aura and made his way towards him with Sanji and Yosaku following behind him. Soon, they had been filled in about what had happened till date. Zoro told Luffy about Nami meeting him and telling him how she was a part of Arlong's crew and had killed Usopp. Luffy had looked at Zoro in shock and had extended his Observation Haki. Locking onto Usopp's aura, he had told them that Usopp was indeed alive and not dead. While they were sitting and conversing on what they were going to do, they were approached by Nojiko, who offered to tell them what was going on here at their village. Luffy had declined to listen and went off for a walk.

While Luffy was taking a walk, he encountered three fishmen, one of which he identified very easily.

Hachi had started to sweat when he saw Luffy, asking him what he was doing there. Luffy glared at him menacingly and told the octopus that he will make anyone who made his navigator cry suffer. Hachi had sweated profusely and the three fishmen had made a beeline for Arlong Park.

While it was all going around, the Marines had invaded Nami's home and taken the 100 million beli that she had gathered in all these years. She had made way towards Arlong Park, only to come back heart-broken knowing that Arlong had played her for the fool she is.

This brought us to now, with Nami on the ground as she cried, her hand on her mouth as tears slipped down her eyes.

"You don't know anything that has been happening here," Nami spoke.

"I don't" Luffy replied.

"I told you to leave!"

"You did."

"Luffy..." She turned back towards him, her eyes brimming with tears, "Help me" she cried.

Luffy let go of her hand finally and put his hat on her head as he stepped back and shouted, "Damn right I will!" Luffy looked at his Nakama and said, "Let's go." He ordered.

As they made their way towards Arlong Park, he noticed the villagers standing in front of the gate and Johnny and Yosaku all beat up leaning against the gate and not letting them pass.

"Get aside, you both. This is personal." Luffy spoke, his voice just above a whisper while many villagers shuddered at the cold voice.

Johnny and Yosaku soon moved away from the gate and Luffy stared at it. He pulled his hand, stretching it at inhuman length and punched it hard, the door breaking due to the impact.

The fishmen looked at the gate in surprise while Hachi trembled as he saw who it was.

"L-Luffy-san!" Hachi exclaimed.

"It's really disappointing you are a part of his crew, Hachi. Some other time, I would not have laid a hand on you because of your connection to Rayleigh. But you people made my navigator cry. None of you will be forgiven." Luffy answered as he pulled his Raiu out, swinging the blade and most of the fishmen fell down with the exception of Chew, Kurobi, Hachi and Arlong. "Zoro. Take on the octopus and then rest. Your aura is not as strong as it should be." Luffy ordered, "Sanji. Take the fish. Usopp, the one with the long mouth. Onto it."

"Yes, Captain." They all answered and soon engaged their opponents while Luffy made a beeline for Arlong, his Raiu sheathed as he punched the fishman hard.

 

***With Zoro and Hachi***

At first, Hachi started to play around with Zoro, throwing black ink at him which Zoro dodged effectively. He continued to do so with Zoro getting more and more frustrated with each passing moment. Not to mention, his injury was starting to act up, making him dizzy.

"Cut the crap, you bastard!" Zoro screeched at the octopus as he attacked him with his Wado Ichimonji.

Hachi, not wanting to fight had tried to avoid it as best as possible but saw no hope. At last, he drew his six blades and tried to attack Zoro, only for him to block it.

"Johnny. Yosaku. Give me your swords!" He asked while the two threw their swords at him.

Even though dizzy and not having a good vision at the moment, Zoro caught them.

"My fighting style at three swords is on a whole different level than with one sword. It's over." Zoro spoke to Hachi and used his signature move  **Onigiri** and ended the fight at that.

Panting, he fell down on the floor, finally losing consciousness.

 

***With Sanji and Kurobi***

Kurobi had attacked Sanji with his Fishman Karate. Even after being hit by the attacks, Sanji had laughed at the fishman, and spoke, "Is this how strong you are? Strength superior to humans. What a joke! Zeff's kick hurts more than your fucking karate."

Kurobi had jumped into the water, with Sanji following him behind. Kurobi soon gained an upper hand in the water, taunting Sanji for his naive chivalry. As Sanji started to heat up, Kurobi held the blonde by his neck, cutting off his oxygen as Sanji started to drown and suffocate. Soon an idea formed in Sanji's mind as he bit down on the Fishman's gills, forcing Kurobi to pull the two out of the water.

"Come out here you fucking fish! Fight me where I can breathe." Sanji shouted and being full of himself, Kurobi succumbed to the taunts and attacked Sanji above water.

Sanji grinned at Kurobi before he spoke, "Fish should not speak back to a cook."

Sanji soon beat the fishman into submission with his kicks, not giving Kurobi any time to counter-attack. With his last kick, he defeated Kurobi with the fishman kicked into and through the Arlong Park where he laid on the other side of the building defeated.

 

***With Usopp and Chew***

Usopp had taken off running with Chew following behind him. He had thought to avoid the fight and lose the fishman in the process as he ran, which was becoming more and more difficult as Chew continued to chase him around. As he lost the fishman for a few seconds, he got an idea and used a Ketchup star he had and pretended to be mortally wounded with blood flowing from him when Chew attacked him.

But the thoughts of Luffy and others looking down on him encouraged him to fight. Gathering his courage, he hid behind the trees. Finally getting an idea, he threw a highly-alcoholic sake at Chew and broke the bottle with his Namari Boshi. The alcohol spill all over Chew who looked around for Usopp. Then using his Kaen Boshi, Usopp set Chew on fire only to later realize that there was water near Chew, which Chew used to escape the fire. Panicking, Usopp finally pulled his hammer out and continued to beat Chew until he had passed out below him all the while shouting 'Usopp hammer!'

 

***With Luffy and Arlong***

While Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp were fighting their own opponents, Luffy had punched Arlong, for the first time using his devil fruit power to fight since he had left Saboady. His hand snapping back in its original position, he glared at Arlong who stood back up, his hand caressing his cheek where Luffy had punched him. Before he could even retaliate, Luffy had vanished from his sight, only to come in front of him as he punched him in the gut, sending him flying in the air and landing on the second floor. 

Arlong panted as he stared at the boy. The punches were strong and Luffy loved to fight bare-handed. Being the rubberman he was, his attacks were far more powerful than others. He looked around as he landed in the room. The room was filled with stacks of papers. He looked around and noticed a desk. As he made his way towards the desk, he noticed the pen with blood on it. It made his blood boil as the meaning of the room finally registered his mind. He screamed as he disappeared and appeared before Arlong, his hand holding his nose while his other hand grabbed on Arlong's Kiribachi sword. Putting in some strength, he watched as both the sword and Arlong's nose break - both which were said to be unbreakable.

As Luffy stepped back, he started to kick all of the room's stuff out of the building, damaging it as best as he could. Finally, as he watched Arlong start to attack him, he stretched his leg up till it was out of the building's roof as he spoke, " **Gomu gomu no...** " Arlong started to approach him. Luffy finally pulled his leg back down, hitting Arlong on his head as he finished " **Axe** "

And so the building crumbled and Arlong park fell.

The villagers and Nami looked on as Arlong Park fell, the building completely destroyed leaving nothing but rubble behind.

"Luffy?" Nami looked around in worry before Luffy stood up over the rubble.

"NAMI!" he screamed, his hands stretched over his head, "You are my NAKAMA!" 

Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji smiled while Nami nodded tearfully.

She was free.


	7. Chapter 7

The shouts of 'We win!' started to get louder and louder after Luffy exclaimed that Nami was his nakama. Nami cried standing in front of the crowd, Luffy's hat resting on her head.

"Gen-san!" Nojiko exclaimed and hugged Genzo tight while Genzo spoke, "Am I dreaming? Is this really true?"

"ARLONG PARK HAS FALLEN" The villagers started to dance around in joy, hugging each other.

While all this was going on, Luffy turned towards Hachi who was down by the water. Moving towards the octopus, he wrapped his hand around Hachi's neck, squeezing slowly as he whispered in a low and dangerous voice, "The only reason you are alive is because of your connection to Rayleigh-san, Hachi. Clean up your fucking act. I will be taking Kurobi, Arlong and Chew to cash in their bounty. Escape if you can. Because if villagers get their sight on you, I won't be able to help you." Finally leaving Hachi on the floor, Luffy joined his crew who was standing with Zoro holding himself up with his swords.

"Stop right there!" A voice interrupted the celebrations of the villagers.

"That man!" Nami exclaimed as her grip tightened on the wooden staff she was holding.

"This is my lucky day" The marine started, "I had a chance to watch a very interesting fight from the beginning to the end. It's not strange to say that you are lucky because no one will believe that unknown pirates can defeat those mermaids!" The marine grinned as he made a pose that only made him look ridiculous, "Because, of you, Every single beli of Arlong will be mine! Everyone drop your weapons! I, Commander Nezumi of Unit 16 will be happy to accept all the treasure!" He exclaimed only to start to choke as Zoro held him from behind.

"Who do we have here, eh?" He gave the Commander an evil smirk and soon the marines were down on the ground all bloody.

"Nice work, Zoro." Luffy grinned at his first mate while Zoro answered, "No problem, Captain."

"You think you can get away with this?" Nezumi questioned from the floor, blood pouring down from his head.

Luffy moved towards him, his leg resting on Nezumi as he pressed hard, "Saying something, Trash?"

While Luffy was pressing down on Nezumi, he felt Nami putting his head back on his head. Nami crouched down in front of him as she held Nezumi's whispers, pulling at them and spoke dangerously, "This is for shooting Nojiko and destroying Bellmere-san's tangerines." Pulling back, she struck her staff at his head as the man fell unconscious. Luffy whistled from behind her while the marines shouted "Sir!"

"Oi you, pieces of trash" Luffy spoke to the marines, "We took out Arlong and his crew." Luffy turned around and pointed to Arlong, Kurobi, and Chew - who Usopp has dragged all the way there to show he had taken a fishman down - "I will be cashing in their bounties. Get to work!"

"We don't accept orders from pirates!" One of the brave marines answered, "Why should we give Arlong's bounty to you anyway? You are just a pirate!" 

"Huh?" Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji turned a menacing glare towards the marine who started to step back and apologize for their behavior.

"You won't be taking any of them until we get our cash, trash!" Luffy kicked at a marine who started to leave with his fellow marines, "Also!" Luffy shouted as they were about to board their ship, "I expect you to return Nami's 100,000,000 beli too. If not..." Luffy stated threateningly as he stomped his feet hard on Nezumi's chest, "Your Commander dies tonight."

And so the marines left to bring back the money.

"Oi Luffy." Zoro spoke as he had wandered back to bring the fishmen at a single place, "One of them is missing."

"Should have escaped when we weren't paying attention. Can't be helped, Zoro." Luffy shrugged as he sat down over Nezumi.

While this was going on, the villagers had spread out, shouting that Arlong Park has fallen. And soon, the news had spread across the whole island.

After Luffy had taken the bounties of each of the pirate they handed over, he had finally let go of Nezumi, who had shouted that he will get back at them. Luffy had just shrugged and kicked the man on the boat and left to find his crew. Sometime before the Marines had arrived, he had asked for a doctor to look after Zoro's wound. As the villagers started to party, Sanji had offered to help them cook, only to be denied and told that he was their savior and should not work while they prepare the food.

 

***At Marine Base 16***

"Hello! Main Base! I am Commander Nezumi of Unit 16 code #00733" Nezumi shouted holding a den-den mushi, "I have something to report to the main base!"

"I can hear you clearly. You don't have to shout." responded a marine back in a calm voice.

"Listen! There is a pirate named, Luffy who always wear a straw hat. He has 4 members with him. He has declared himself to be the government enemy!" Nezumi continued to shout, regardless.

"Luffy and..." the marine on the other side jotted down.

"They are dangerous and they defeated Arlong! Also, they took Arlong's prize money. I am sending you a picture. I want a high bounty on him!" Still shouting.

 

***Back at Cocoyashi Village***

It has been 2 days since Arlong Park has fallen. Luffy had handed over money to each of his crew members, with Zoro getting Arlong's half prize. Luffy had sat them down and explained the rules to them. While Nami looked put out, she couldn't argue that it was unfair. Not that Luffy would budge on it. He also stated that the money he had in the vault is strictly for the ship repairs or if they ever need to buy another ship. While Usopp had thrown a major tantrum at that, Luffy had calmed him down and told Usopp some harsh realities about Grand Line. Luffy reminded Usopp that East Blue was the weakest of the four blues and Merry was never designed to tolerate Grand Line's eccentric climate. While Usopp had pouted for two days straight, he had come around it, much to Luffy's relief. 

At present, the villagers were partying around. Zoro was sitting and drinking booze, taking it easy for a while because of his injury. Sanji was picking on women who were all too glad to be near one of their saviors. Usopp had gathered around a crowd as he spoke about his adventures, telling his tales and singing along. Luffy was going around, eating whatever came in front of him.

On the other hand, Nami was sitting in front of her mother's grave, telling her goodbye. She had finished packing in the morning and was now chatting with her mother, telling her of the time she spent with the crew. Tears slipped down her eyes as she remembered the kind woman who had taken both her and Nojiko in when she had no obligations to do that. She smiled at the grave as she set a mikan on the ground as she whispered, "I will be leaving with them tomorrow, Bellmere-san. Look after me" Drying her tears, she turned around to come face to face with Nojiko who hugged her tight telling her she will miss her.

While Genzo looks at both the sisters, he turned towards the straw-hatted boy and made him promise never to hurt Nami. Luffy had just smiled and told Genzo that his crew is his family. And anyone who dares make his crew cry will answer to him.

The next day, Luffy and the others were standing on Going Merry with Lucchi beside the ship. Johnny and Yosaku were standing on the ground thanking them for looking after the duo.

"What are you talking about?" Luffy questioned while the two looked at him strangely, "Friends look after each other. Don't mention it." Luffy grinned at them widely and stared up as he felt Nami's aura approaching them fast.

"Raise the anchor!" She shouted as she ran towards the ship.

"Na-chan?" Many villagers questioned while Genzo questioned, "Is she going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"You heard the lady. Raise the anchor!" Luffy grinned as he watched what Nami was actually doing while the others complied.

The villagers were shouting at Nami to stop and at least say goodbye to them while Nami breezed through the crowd. As she jumped on the ship, she turned her back towards them and pulled her shirt up a bit only for their wallets to fall down. Luffy laughed hard while the villagers shouted, "You little thief!"

Some laughed, some demanded that she give their wallet back but in the end, all of them told her Good Luck and to come back any time she wants.

 

***At the Marine Main Base***

"This is showing that our units are meaningless and it is the truth!" A marine shouted as he slapped his hand on a whiteboard. The board currently had three wanted posters. Buggy - 15,000,000 beli; Don Kreig - 17,000,000 beli; Arlong - 20,000,000 beli. "The average price in East Blue is 3,000,000 beli and the big one's price is greater than 10,000,000 beli. But they have all been defeated by this boy! Not to mention, I had reports of him ending Captain Morgan's - ahem - suspicious activities. Also, he had been known to turn in whole crews of pirates back at Saboady Archipelago! I don't know what this boy is up to in East Blue, but we can't just ignore him like that! That's why we had arranged a bounty of 50,000,000 beli for him! He is still starting out and dangerous. We have to take care of him soon before he re-enters Grand Line!" The marine shouted.

 

***At Going Merry***

"You increased the price again?" Nami questioned the news coo. "I think it's getting too expensive now."

"Coo" The news coo answered.

"Next time, if you increase the price I won't buy anymore!" Nami said as she grabbed the newspaper.

While she sat on a chair to read the newspaper, a small paper slipped down her newspaper on the ground. Usopp who was in the process of developing a new chili pepper marble - which had exploded right on his face - stared at the paper and pulled it up, only to shriek loudly.

The crew members looked at him in surprise as he stared at the paper, only for Luffy to stretch his hand pull it up.

"WHAT?!" Every member of the crew screamed as they stared at Luffy's wanted poster. 

"50 million beli!" Luffy held his poster up as he smiled widely, "Yes! Bigger than Ace's first bounty!" And he proceeded to dance around on the ship.

"Don't you understand anything at all?" Nami questioned, "This means many people are looking forward to killing you! With this high price, the main base must do something for sure! This does not include those pirate hunters at all!" Nami sighed.

"Yes. Very weak pirate hunters and marines. Really Nami, it will be fine." Luffy grinned.

"See? My picture is on this wanted poster too!" Usopp pointed while Sanji sat on the deck pouting.

"Say Luffy... who is this Ace? It's the second time I'd heard of him from you." Zoro inquired.

"Ah, Ace? Ace is my brother! Portgas D. Ace. He's worth 550,000,000 beli." Luffy answered while the other members looked in shock at him, "He's part of a big crew."

"Anyways," Luffy directed the topic to another place, "We will be making one more stop before we finally leave for Grand Line. Nami. I have a few things to give to you." Luffy moved into his room and came back with two things. He handed a log pose to Nami who looked at what the oddity is curiously, "This is a log pose. A compass does not work in the Grand Line at all due to the magnetic fields. Never lose it. In Grand Line, if you want to survive, you can only trust the log pose. Common sense does not work there." And he started to explain how a Log Pose work to Nami. He then handed over a paper to Nami who looked at it curiously.

"What do I do with a paper, Luffy?" Nami questioned.

Luffy tore a big piece of the paper and told Nami to keep the other in her hand. As he moved around the ship, the crew members looked in surprise as the paper always pointed to where he was going. As he came back, he replied, "It's a vivre card. They are common in the New World, but I had Rayleigh make it for me. It will always point to me. So, keep it close if we ever separate. Give a piece of it to each of them." Luffy pointed at the guys. "Now, onto our last stop! The town of beginning and the end! Loguetown!" Luffy grinned as they nodded. 

When the crew docked near the Loguetown, Luffy took some money out of the safe and came out. Handing over a bag to Zoro, he said, "Buy two swords for yourself. Also, buy four wooden swords. You will be practicing with me daily." Zoro nodded at that. Turning towards Sanji, he threw a bag at him who caught it with ease, "Buy anything you want. Also, stock up our kitchen supplies." Turning towards Nami, he threw a bag at her, "Anything you want. Buy a book regarding Grand Line islands and so. I have journals which I will let you read, but that does not mean we will follow the same path. Do not under any circumstance lose the Log Pose. The one you will find here will be very expensive." Nami nodded and finally, Luffy turned towards Usopp, "Take this. Buy anything you want for your inventions. I am also hoping that you and Nami can come up with a weapon for her. That's all. Enjoy the sights. We will be leaving at 5." And so the crew went on their own ways.

 

***At one isolated island*  
**

"Ah!" Someone shouted, "What are you doing here, Hawk-eyes?!" the same person questioned.

"Shut up." Mihawk glared at the man, "I have no business with you. Where is your boss?" he inquired. "He stays in a place like this! How carefree! What does he think?"

"Ca-Ca" The man ran towards his boss and finally fell in front of his boss and spoke, "Captain!"

"Huh?" The group of pirates - revealed to be the Red Hair pirates - turned towards the person and looked at him oddly.

Finally noticing Hawk-eyes, Shanks smirked as he spoke, "Hi, Hawkeyes! What a surprise. I'm not in a good mood right now. Are you coming here to fight me?" Shanks questioned.

"I have given up thinking of fighting the one arm man like you for a long time." Hawk-eyes answered, "I met Luffy some time ago. Seems like the squirt is out recruiting members." Mihawk handed Shanks Luffy's wanted poster.

"So you've come, Luffy" Shanks smiled as he stared down at the boy in the picture.

 

***With Zoro***

After wandering about for some time, he finally noticed a weapons shop. As he moved into the shop, he noticed the swords and was welcomed by the owner.

"I want to buy some swords. And four wooden swords too." Zoro said.

"Of course, of course." The shop owner nodded and moved to a side, picking up four wooden swords and putting it on the counter. That was when he noticed the sword strapped around Zoro's hip. "Can I see your sword, sir?" he questioned.

Zoro looked at his with a glare and asked, "And why should I let you see my sword?"

While the owner tried to convince Zoro to sell him the sword, Zoro refused, adamant on not selling his sword. "Listen here you piece of shit!" Zoro held the owner, pulling him up as he stared down at him, "This sword is not up for sale. Got it?" He glared at the owner who started to apologize. "Good. Now, I need two more swords. I will look around." Letting go of the owner, Zoro explored the shop when he felt a menacing aura coming from a sword. He moved towards a 50,000 beli sword stand and pulled a sword out.

As he pulled out the sword, a woman who had entered the store recently looked at the sword with curiosity and spoke excitedly, "This is Sandai Kitetsu! A real one!" She turned towards the owner and questioned, "Mister! Are you sure that this sword is worth only 50,000 beli?"

"Yes." The owner spoke in a sad tone.

"This sword is cursed," Zoro spoke as he stared at the blade, turning it to look at it clearly.

"You can tell?" The owner questioned, looking at Zoro with wide eyes.

"I can feel it," Zoro answered.

The owner soon explained about the curse of the Kitetsu blades. He then went off telling him that he won't be selling it. Zoro looked at him, telling them he will check it. That he will check what's better. The curse or his luck.

While the two shouted at him to stop, he pulled his hand up and threw the sword in the air. The sword glided down and stuck the floor without cutting his arm. The owner and the woman sighed and the owner asked him to wait. He came back with his Yubashiri, asking Zoro to take both the swords for free. As Zoro paid for the 4 wooden swords, he left, holding the small paper on his palm, following it to find Luffy.

 

***Meanwhile***

While Sanji was exploring around, he came across the Elephant's trunk Tuna. He questioned the seller where it is from who replied it was from the South Sea. That cemented Sanji's belief that the All Blue was in the Grand Line. He asked the seller to sell it whole to him who noticed Usopp and asked him to carry the fish back to the ship.

Nami had shopped around for some clothes and books regarding the Grand Line. She was moving around the streets when she noticed the drop in pressure and noted it will be raining soon. She started to make her way towards Luffy following his Vivre card to warn him of the upcoming storm.

Luffy had finally found the execution platform and stood over it to admire the view.

"So this is what you saw before you died, Uncle Roger?" he whispered to himself.

Soon he heard the voice of a civilian telling him to get down from there. He questioned why he should do that to be replied that it is a historical landmark that belonged to the world government.

The officer was shot down by the club-carrying woman who looked at Luffy and spoke, "Long time no see, Luffy."

Luffy looked at her in confusion and asked who she was.

"Ara. Don't tell me you already forgot who I am, Luffy. After all, you were the first man to ever attack me."

"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head as he stared at her before he finally sensed her aura, "Alvida?! Wow, you lost weight!" 

"You brat!" she screeched and Luffy felt someone behind him so he turned around and kicked the person who happened to be Cabaji with a wooden plank.

Suddenly, he felt a strong aura as the clouds thundered, indicating that a storm is about to come.

"Sorry. I don't have time for you people." Letting out a small burst of Haki, he watched them all fall down as he hopped down from the execution platform.

He was soon faced by a marine captain who stood in front of him and spoke, "Stop right there, Straw Hat Luffy."

"Like I said. I do not have time for you. Move." Luffy spoke as he tried to punch the marine only for his hand to go through his body, "Logia, huh?" His hand snapped back and he soon felt his crewmates aura.

"You people! Go to the ship. I will be right back." Luffy grinned at them and turned towards the marine Captain Smoker. 

"You think you can go past me, Straw Hat?" Smoker questioned as he stared down at him.

"I don't think I can" Luffy spoke as he grinned, "I know I can. Move it." he turned his arm black and punched the man in the face, sending him flying towards a building. Smoker looked at the boy in shock and soon lightning crackled and a figure stood before Luffy.

"Long time no see." The cloaked man spoke.

"The world is waiting for our answer," Luffy smirked at the man.

"The tides are changing. Go forth."

Luffy grinned as he pulled his arms up and shouted, "I'm the man who will become the King of Pirates!" and he started to run in the direction of the ship. 

Smoker tried to follow Luffy only to be stopped by Dragon.

"Why?" Smoker questioned, "Why let him go?" 

"Is there a reason to stop a man from setting sail?" Dragon questioned as he stared at the cloudy sky.

And with a flash of lighting, he vanished from the spot.

As the crew members all hopped on the ship, Usopp pulled up the anchor as they set sail. Luffy smiled at his nakama and pulled out a barrel.

"A small ceremony before entering Grand Line?" he grinned and put his leg over the barrel, "To be the pirate king."

Sanji put his leg over the barrel next and said, "To find All Blue."

"To be the greatest swordsman ever" Zoro grinned.

"To draw the map of the whole world" Nami smiled.

"To... To be the great warrior of the seas." Usopp hesitated.

"TO GRAND LINE!"


	8. Chapter 8

It has been an hour since the crew left Loguetown and were currently sailing towards the Grand Line. Usopp was manning the rudder while Sanji was in the crow's nest looking out. Zoro was sitting at the rear deck of the ship with Luffy cleaning his swords and Nami was looking at the map of Grand Line.

"AHHH!" she suddenly screamed as she stared down at the Grand Line's map while Luffy looked at her in question.

"What's wrong Nami?" Luffy questioned from his spot as he sheathed his sword and stood up with Zoro following behind him.

"I was looking at the map of Grand Line that I stole from Buggy and it says here the entrance of the Grand Line is a mountain" she answered causing everyone's eyes to widen except Luffy.

"A mountain?" Zoro asked while looking at Nami, "Are we supposed to pass through it? Or maybe climb it?" Zoro questioned.

"The latter," Luffy answered while he slammed his hand on the table beside the map, "Look here, you lot! You see this mountain right here?" Luffy pointed at the mountain, "That mountain is a part of the Red Line and is called the Reverse Mountain. Currents from all four of the seas run up the mountain and into the Grand Line," Luffy explained while tracing his finger on the small blue line that represents the currents that go up the mountain. Everyone's eyes widened at that information.

As Luffy extended his Haki, he felt Lucchi following beside them under the water. As Luffy turned to look at them all, he questioned, "What did you all buy?"

"I bought some fresh vegetables and stocked up our supplies. You seem to eat a lot more than usual, so I bought a lot of meat. I also bought some new pots and pans for the kitchen, some knives, but the best part is I bought a Blue-Finned Elephant Tuna" Sanji replied as he nodded at him before he turned towards Zoro to hear what he bought.

"I can't say I bought the two swords. The man gave them to me for free. But I bought the four wooden swords you asked for, Cap." Zoro answered.

"Why the hell will some shopkeeper give you swords for free?!" Sanji questioned while Luffy's eye went to the swords Zoro pulled up and saw the reason.

"Sandai Kitetsu. The cursed sword." Luffy whispered as he stared at the sword in amazement.

"Cursed?" Nami, Sanji, and Usopp questioned and Luffy explained the myth to them.

Luffy then turned towards Nami who answered, "I bought some books regarding Grand Line islands and its weather. I also bought a Devil Fruit encyclopedia in case we ever come across one. I had heard the Grand Line is full of them." Luffy nodded, "I also bought some clothes. That's about it. Luffy? Can I get those journals you were talking about?" Nami questioned, "They are about Grand Line, right?"

"They are my mother's journals. About the time she sailed. I will give them to you after we step into the Grand Line." Nami nodded at that.

Luffy finally turned towards Usopp who answered, "I bought these new pair of goggles. They will help me shoot better." Luffy nodded at that, "I also bought some chemicals to experiment with. I think I also have some idea about a weapon for Nami. So I will first discuss it with her and then build it. Personally, I think it would be best for her." 

"Great. Now. Usopp, Sanji, man the rudder. Because the entrance to the Grand Line is right ahead of us!" Luffy smirked as he moved towards the railings and shouted, "LUCCHI!" The sea king emerged out of the water letting out a small noise, "Help the ship move up that passage." Luffy pointed at the passage and Lucchi dived into the sea, his head gently pushing the ship towards the side, not hard to damage the ship. "Usopp, Sanji! To the right!" he ordered.

"Yosh." The two answered and turned the rudder in the right direction. With Lucchi helping, it was much easier to do so.

With Lucchi helping the ship from the sides and Usopp and Sanji manning the rudder, the ship was in the right direction as it started to make it's way up. Everyone let out a sigh of relief before they screamed, "WE MADE IT!!!"

As the ship continued to climb up until it couldn't, Nami stared in amazement as she whispered, "We are here."

Luffy grinned at her as he told her, "It's just the beginning, Nami. The greatest sea of all. Grand Line. We are going to achieve our dreams." He looked out at the sea with a wide smile as he breathed in the familiar air.

"Luffy is there supposed to be another mountain at the bottom?" Sanji questioned as he stared at the mountain that is blocking their path.

"No, why?" Luffy asked. Sanji pointed in front of the ship and Luffy turned around to look at it. His eyes widened as he screamed out loud, "LABOON!!!!"

"I suppose it's not a mountain then?" Zoro questioned.

"A mountain? No! It's a fucking whale. What the hell do we do?!" Luffy stared t freak out as they got closer and closer to the whale. "Right. Lucchi!" Luffy called out and the sea king made his way forward and attacked the whale. That was not much help because the whale turned its eyes towards them and sucked the ship in with the water while Lucchi looked on from the sidelines.

"Shit." Luffy cursed as the boat got sucked in by the whale. Everyone looked in front of them and saw they were about to crash into the whale's stomach and closed their eyes. Everyone waited and waited for their impending doom but it never came. Finally deciding to open their eyes to see what was going and what they saw had their mouths hanging.

"Is this real?" Sanji questioned

"I am sure we were swallowed by a whale," Nami responded. In front of everyone, they saw clear skies with birds in the air and off the right of the Going Merry was a small island with a house on it. They all turned towards Luffy to ask if he knew what was going on only for the captain to shook his head saying no.

"A dream?" Usopp pondered.

"A dream." The other agreed while Luffy looked around.

"This is not a real ocean. Look." He pointed at the sky, "It is painted. The birds are not moving. Also, the water here is green." Everyone blinked at that and screamed they were inside a whale's stomach.

Before anyone could say another thing, a giant squid rose out of the water and Nami and Usopp screamed and hid behind the mast. Zoro's hands went to his swords while Sanji was ready to kick it. Luffy had shifted into his own stance, about to attack. Before the three could do anything, three harpoons came out of the house on the island and struck the squid right in the head, killing it. Luffy and the duo narrowed their eyes and stared at the doorway of the house, watching a man slowly walking out from the shadows.

"Looks like someone's home," Sanji said while staring at the man with narrowed eyes.

"I say we fire the cannon," Usopp suggested.

"No, hold a sec." Sanji pulled his hand up to stop Usopp. When Luffy saw the man, he immediately knew who it was. Luffy had read about him from his mom's journals that Rayleigh had handed over to him. As he stared at the man with narrowed eyes, the man continued to stare back in the creepy manner as he made his way out of the house while walking over the lawn chair. The tension continued to grow as the man made his way towards the lawn chair, sitting down. Everyone had expected him to attack but the man pulled a newspaper out and began reading it.

"YOU GOING TO SAY SOMETHING!" Sanji yelled at the old man.

"Hey, if you want to fight, we can fight!" Usopp said from way inside the cabin causing his crewmates to sweatdrop.

"You try it and someone's going to die," The old man said in a serious voice, causing Usopp to whimper a bit while Zoro and Sanji narrowed their eyes and prepare to attack.

"Yea, whose that?" Sanji questioned.

"I of course" The man answered causing Luffy to start laughing loudly while Sanji appeared wanting to kill the old man.

"I think that's enough, Crocus," Luffy replied after he got control over his laugh.

"Who are you and why are you interrupting my running gag?" Crocus inquired in an annoyed tone.

"GAG?!" Zoro and Sanji screamed, wanting to cut and kick the old man respectively.

"I'm Rayleigh's disciple" Luffy answered, "Nephew of your old captain." and he smirked watching the man start to choke.

"W-What?!" Crocus exclaimed as he stared at Luffy. The crew looked at him in question. They do not know much about their captain, after all. Finally calming himself, Crocus stared at Luffy and put his paper down, "Rose's brat, eh? Well, how nice to finally meet you when you are not a day old. How is Rayleigh doing? Last I remembered your mother left you with your grandfather. How in the world you ended up with Vice Captain?" Crocus questioned.

"Rayleigh save me. And my cousin. Took us in and taught us everything he could. I can tell you more about him if you tell us how we can get out of this whale." Luffy smiled at the man.

"The exit's right there." Crocus pointed to the door.

Before anyone could say anything, the entire place shook as though an earthquake was causing the calm waters to become rough.

"What the hell is happening?!" Nami questioned as she and everyone else tried to keep their balance on the ship as it rocked against the rough waters.

"It's begun," Crocus said causing Luffy to look at him strangely before he jumped into the water.

"Oi! Jumping into gastric acid like that! Do you have a death wish, old man?" Usopp questioned.

"Laboon's upset," Luffy whispered as he turned towards the old man.

"Upset? Why will the whale be upset, Luffy?" Sanji questioned.

"It's a long story," Luffy replied and soon the shaking stopped as Crocus drugged Laboon. While Crocus made his way back towards his house, Luffy noted two presence. While the old man was climbing up the ladder, the smaller door pushed open and two individuals came in with guns in their hands. While they fired at the man, Luffy whispered, " **Geppo. Soru** " and soon he was in front of the old man and directed the bullets away from the target using his rubber body. Crocus stared at the boy in amazement who used Geppo again to make his way towards the two individuals, slamming the two of their heads together and watched in satisfaction as the two lost consciousness.

Carrying the two, he dropped them off on Merry as he turned towards his crew, "Shall we go out not? I don't want the ship to suffer much damage. If we stay here longer, we might not even make till Water 7 to get a ship." Luffy spoke causing his crew to take out two paddles and start to row the boat towards the exit.

Crocus followed them along, making his way out of Laboon and on towards the lighthouse.

Usopp asked the first question, "Why is there a canal inside the whale?"

"Call it a doctor's playful mind." Crocus answered as he sat down and stared at Laboon, "It's hard to treat a whale this big from the outside. So I had to come up with a way around it." Causing the crew to nod their head showing that they understood. Lucchi soon came out of the water and pushed his head against Luffy's who petted him slowly earning a delightful sound from the sea king as the crew laughed.

As Sanji got to cooking, Crocus told them the story of Laboon and the pirates he came here with. As they listened, Sanji commented on how sad it was that they die. Crocus corrected him, telling him that they had probably fleed from the Grand Line and left Laboon here. While they looked at the shock on it, Sanji commented on how cold-hearted can one be to leave one of their nakama behind like this.

Luffy sighed as he stared at the whale before he winked at Crocus.

As Luffy made his way towards the whale, he stretched his hand back and hit Laboon right in his eye. While the members looking in shock at what he was doing, Laboon narrowed his eyes at Luffy before he jumped out of the water to hit his head against Luffy. Luffy side-stepped it as he turned his hand black, hitting Laboon harder than before. Later, he stood aside as he shouted, "It's a draw!" causing Laboon to stop in his tracks. "I'm a lot stronger than I look. Your shipmates are dead! Get over it, you stupid whale! Them being dead does not mean for you to hurt yourself. Look up. I am right here. Three years. In three years we will sail around the Grand Line and make it back here. So don't go around hitting your head against the Red Line and die on us, Laboon!" Luffy shouted at Laboon who looked at him with teary-eyes and screamed 'Bo!'

Luffy began to make his way back to his crew when Crocus commented, "That was really nice of you, young man."

"Ah! I never introduced myself. Though I thought you already knew. Anyways." Luffy replied with a chuckle, "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, pleased to meet you" And he bowed before the man.

"I'm Crocus, lighthouse keeper here at the Twin Capes," Crocus introduced himself before he finally asked Luffy, "How is Rayleigh doing? It's been too long."

"Ah, he's fine. Same old Rayleigh. Setting off whenever he wants, drinking like there's no tomorrow and giving Shakky a headache."

"So the same as ever. I never expected you or even your cousin to survive. Not after how the marines were when  _he_  died." Crocus sighed

"It was peaceful for seven years since I was born. Dad handed me over to jii-chan. No one would suspect him, after all. He did the same. He kept us hidden as best as he could until Rayleigh found us." Crocus nodded at that while Luffy's crew looked on in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Usopp questioned.

"Did you not told them?" Crocus questioned while Luffy made a shushing noise and pointed at the two people on his ship, passed out.

"Later, you lot. Not now." Luffy told his crew.

While they nodded, Luffy finally turned towards his crew and spoke, "We will be leaving soon." The two had seemingly vanished from the spot on the boat and were now groveling before Nami to take them to their hometown. Luffy looked down at the two and questioned, "Why should we? You tried to kill someone my mother respected a lot." 

"Please! Our log pose broke when you hit us! You owe us this!" Mr. 9 spoke.

"We are pirates. We do what we want, however, we want to. We owe you nothing." Luffy answered.

"Please. We will do anything." Miss Wednesday spoke.

"Anything, eh?" Luffy grinned at them devilishly, "Fine you can come. You will be on the cleaning duty until we reach our first destination Whisky Peak. From there you can find your own way." Luffy replied.

"That's our town! Why do we need to be on cleaning duty?!" Mr. 9 questioned.

"You don't? How nice, we don't need to take you after all." Luffy smirked and started to make his way towards his ship with his crew.

"Wait! We will do it!" Miss Wednesday screamed behind them as the two made their way to the ship.

While they departed with Lucchi swimming beside them, Luffy waved his hands and screamed at Crocus, "See Ya!"

As Crocus smiled at the departing crew, he spoke out loud, "They are the ones we have been waiting for, right, Roger?"

 

***Sometime later on Merry***

Luffy stood near Merry's figurehead as he called his crew to gather around. As they gathered around on the deck Luffy looked at them intently as he spoke, "We will starting training soon."

That statement had mixed reactions from the crew. While Zoro stated it was about time that they started it, Usopp and Nami complained about why they have to train while Sanji questioned what they will be learning. Luffy first turned towards Nami and Usopp and questioned, "What will you do if you are facing an opponent and none of us" Luffy pointed at himself, Sanji and Zoro, "are not around? There are situations where you can't just hide and had to fight. What then? Will you let yourself be vulnerable like that? Or will you train to get stronger and stand tall in the face of danger?" The two looked down as it dawned on them that they were not playing a child's game.

"We will train." The two answered while Luffy smiled wide at them. 

At the back of the ship, Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday were cleaning around while Lucchi kept an eye on them. The sight of a sea king was enough for them to not put a step out of line.

Luffy turned towards Sanji and answered his question at last, "You will be learning Haki first. Then Rokushiki if required. Personally, I feel Haki is a must for all of you. Sanji might gain an upper hand if he learns Soru and Geppo. Maybe Tekkai too. Zoro will be training with me personally because no one else here knows how to use a sword."

"What are these things that you talk about, Luffy?" Sanji questioned as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it before taking a long drag.

"Haki is a power that lies dormant in all the world's creatures. It is not that different from the typical senses. However, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it. Broadly speaking, there are two types of Haki available to everyone, given the proper training; however, there is a third type that only a certain group of "chosen ones" are said to possess." Luffy explained, "Zoro."

Zoro stood up as he unsheathed his Wado Ichimonji and closed his eyes, attack Luffy randomly with Luffy speaking out loud where the sword was coming from before dodging. As Zoro finally stepped back, Luffy turned to face the crew members who were looking at him shocked, "That was Observation Haki. It let's one predict where an opponent is going to attack and how. People who master this skill can very easily look a few seconds into the future." Luffy explained while the crew looked at him with wide eyes and jaws reaching the floor. Luffy turned his hand black and gestured Zoro. Zoro attacked Luffy's arm as the crew screamed at him asking what he was doing. They all stopped short when they heard a 'clank' and saw Zoro's sword not moving an inch, "This is Armament Haki. It provides your body armor of sorts. It does not make you infallible but is a very good defense against Devil Fruit users and most things. Like, if you punch me, I won't feel any pain at all. But if you use Haki to punch me, it would very much hurt like hell. There are some people whose Devil Fruit allows their body to turn into their element itself. Like Captain Smoker from Loguetown. He was made of 'smoke' literally. Any blunt attacks will pass right through him. But Haki attacks won't. That's why it is so important to learn Haki. These are the two anyone can learn and I very much intend to make you capable of using it before we move onto New World." The crew nodded while Zoro sheathed his sword.

"What's the third type?" Sanji questioned.

"Did you saw how I tamed the sea king when we were going to Cocoyashi?" Luffy questioned Sanji who nodded.

"That was the third type. Conqueror's Haki. It let me overpower those with wills weaker than mine. That's how I tamed Lucchi. Only one in millions can use it" Luffy explained, "Now. We will be dividing into two pairs. Sanji, Usopp, and Nami. One pair. You will take turns. I bought some sticks and blindfolds at Loguetown. They are in my room. Can you bring them, Usopp?" Luffy turned towards Zoro, "Bring two wooden swords." The two went to bring them.

Luffy handed a stick to Nami and other to Usopp. He handed Sanji a blindfold. "They will attack you while you are blindfolded until you can't dodge the attacks. Take one hour each. First Sanji, then Usopp and then Nami." Luffy turned towards Sanji, "I know you won't hit a woman. So you can go prepare Lunch when Usopp and Nami will be training. This is the best way to learn Observation Haki." The trio nodded at them. Luffy took a sword from Zoro as he stared at them, "I know your specialty is three sword style. But you need to work on your one-sword and two-sword style more. Improve them first, then we move onto your three-sword style." Zoro nodded.

"Onto it!" And so the training began.


	9. Chapter 9

Sometime after they had started to train, the weather started to change from snow one moment to lightening the next to hot another moment. As the weather continued to change, Nami thought about what Luffy had told her about the climate. She had pulled out the first journal from the black and golden trunk of Luffy as she sat down to read it after an *ahem* not so good start in the Grand Line. They were finally in the calm waters and Luffy had commented that the island must be close by. Usopp stood in the crow's nest as he kept a watch for the island. Luffy and Zoro were training, their wooden swords clashing. Sanji was in the kitchen, preparing some snacks while Mr. 9 and Miss. Wednesday was on the cleaning duty with Lucchi keeping a watchful eye on them.

"LAND HO!" Usopp shouted as Sanji offered drinks to everyone with some biscuits.

Luffy stared at the island, a small smile gracing his face. "An island with giant cacti." He spoke in amazement as he stared at the island. As Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday stared at the island, they soon bid their goodbyes. While Zoro sat on the deck, his looks thoughtful, Usopp was wondering about monsters and such. Luffy thought to have some fun with him as he started to regale him with a tale of a monster living on those giant cacti. This had spooked Usopp and Nami out who screamed and cling to each other while Luffy laughed out loud. Sanji stared at Luffy before aiming a kick at Luffy's head - which Luffy dodged perfectly - and shouted, "Do not scare Nami-san!" Turning to Nami, Sanji crooned, "You can always rely on me, Nami-san~" doing a little swirl and kneeling before her.

"Hai, hai" Nami answered in a nonchalant manner before she turned towards the river leading into the island, "We will be going in, everyone. Be prepared."

As the ship sailed further in towards the island, people started to shout, "Pirates! It's pirates!", "Welcome to our town!", "Welcome, the great warriors of the sea!" This continued to the amazement of the crew who looked around in shock. While Zoro, Nami, and Luffy were a bit conscious, Sanji and Usopp were taking it all in and waving at the townsfolk. As the ship came to a stop, a man with large curly hairs greeted them, "Welcome. My name is Igarappoi. Th-Th - ma maa maaaa~ This is Whiskey Peak, the town of music and liquor! It's our honor to welcome you. We have a lot of liquor here. Please tell us about your journey. If you don't mind, I would like to ask you to join a party." 

While Zoro, Nami and Luffy looked on in doubt, Sanji and Usopp were already dancing at the idea of a party. Nami moved forward as she asked the important question, "How long will it take to record the magnetic field on this island?"

But Igarappoi deflected her question easily, "Record? We shall talk about that after you've been rested. Let's party everyone! Let's begin the music to welcome these brave warriors."

Luffy had warned the two as they moved towards the party. The moon has risen and the welcome party still continues. Usopp had gathered a crowd, telling about his tales - all lies of course - as he drank from a mug. Zoro and Nami were involved in a drinking competition with the others as they drank the place dry. Luffy was eating meals after meals, his rubbery stomach expanding. Sanji was enjoying the attention of the ladies, hearts clearly visible in his eyes. Sometime later, Zoro finally put his mug down, collapsing telling he can't go on anymore. Nami was having a competition with a woman who was dressed as a nun which she finally won. Finally full, Luffy had collapsed on the floor, his hand holding his bulging stomach. And so, one by one, each of the Strawhats went down to sleep, tired after a long party - or so some appeared to be.

 

***Meanwhile. Outside the building***

The nun who was involved in the drinking contest with Nami came stumbling out, "Oh God! they ate and drank a lot." Turning towards Igarappoi, she questioned, "So, do you think it's worth to have a party for those stupid looking kids?"

Igarappoi turned towards her and exclaimed, "Ms. Monday!"

"We could have taken care of them at the port because our town is almost out of food and we have failed to get that whale's meat" Ms. Monday complained.

This irked Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday before Igarappoi - Mr. 8 - pulled out a bounty poster which the other three looked at in shock, "Fif...Fifty... Fifty Million Beli?!" They exclaimed together.

"So you see? We can't underestimate these pirates. Hurry up and gather their treatures out of their ship. Then, tie them up. If we kill them, we will get 30% less money because the government wants them alive to execute them in front of people." Mr. 8 answered.

"Sorry." A voice spoke out while a man came running from the building telling two has escaped, "We can't let you do that." Zoro smirked evilly as Luffy stood beside him, "A real swordsman will not fall for a trick like that."

"You gonna take care of them, Zoro?" Luffy questioned as his own hand rested on his Raiu, "I bet you have been itching to try out your new swords." 

"Aye, Captain. 100 hunters? I will be your challenger tonight, Baroque Works" Zoro smirked.

Mr. 9 looked at him in surprise as he screeched how does he know their company's name. While Zoro explained, Mr. 9 ordered the hunters to take care of them. Luffy slipped out of the way as he searched for Nami, helping her take all their treasures. The two soon rested on the top of a building. "They sure are broke," Nami said while Luffy nodded sadly.

Zoro went around the whole town, playing with them, cutting them up. He let them chase him, cornered them as he sliced their front, back, or anything he encountered. While they were going around running and fighting - more like playing according to Zoro - there was a sudden explosion as Zoro landed on the top of another building.

"Who are you?!" some hunters exclaimed while the two introduced themselves as Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine.

"What a shame. You lost to only one swordsman?" Mr. 5 questioned while Mr. 8 looked up at the pair in shock, "Don't you feel ashamed of yourself at all? Huh?" 

Ms. Valentine laughed beside him, "That's the difference between you weaklings and us" She interjected.

While Mr. 8 questioned their reason to come here, Ms. Wednesday asked their assistance in dealing with a swordsman.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mr. 5 questioned, "You said we came here to help you? You think that we came to Grand Line just to do that?" He laughed out loud while Mr. 9 questioned his motive to come here.

"Boss said that 'someone knows my secret'" Ms. Valentine explained, "And I don't know what that person knows, but our company's principal is 'Everything must be a secret' No one should know about each other's past or even their identity."

Soon Mr. 8 stood up with a screech of 'Die!' and fired cannons at Mr. 8, while Ms. Wednesday screamed, "Igaram!" While Igaram told her to leave, Vivi stood up and started to escape only to be blocked by Ms. Valentine.

While the commotion was going on, Luffy had made his way back to Zoro and Igaram had proceed to hold Zoro's leg, begging him to save the princess. While Zoro questioned why they should help those who were about to kill them, Mr. 5 threw a booger at them only for Luffy to use Tekkai to take on the impact.

"Luffy!" Zoro screamed while Luffy answered, "Don't worry. I'm fine."

Igaram continued to beg, telling that they were willing to pay if they help save the princess. Nami looked down from her designated spot and asked if they were willing to pay 1 Billion Beli. Igaram looked at her in shock, telling that he does not have money like that.

"You mean to say your princess is worthless as compared to money?" Nami questioned.

"Nami." Luffy spoke low and dangerously, "I am going to kill that Booger guy. No one dares to hurt someone of my crew." Luffy's hat covered his eyes and he unsheathed his Raiu, "Do continue the negotiations if you want to. I don't mind working for a price" Luffy grinned devilishly as he jumped down and covered his sword with Haki.

While Nami turned towards Igaram and asked him what he will do, Luffy took care of Mr. 5 quickly by plunging his Haki covered sword in the latter's stomach, blood spilling down his front. Sheathing his sword, Luffy made his way back to the group to find Zoro had already taken care of Ms. Valentine.

With the two officers agents taken care of, Vivi and Igaram explained to them what Baroque Works really is.

"So?" Luffy spoke suddenly, "Who's the boss?"

"The boss?" Vivi screeched as she started to wave her hands around nervously, "You'd better not to know that. The only thing that I can't tell you because it can cost you your life."

Nami started laughing, "It's good that you're not telling us because the person who wanted to conquer a nation should be the worst man ever, right?"

"That's right," Vivi agreed, "No matter how good you are, you can't compare to 'Crocodile' one of the Seven Warlords." Vivi agreed before she looked at the group in shock as Zoro questioned that she just spoke the name or not. They soon noticed a Vulture and an Otter while Nami started to screech about what they were going to do now as Vivi cried.

As Nami started to leave, thinking that they still have time, she found the otter drawing their pictures and showing it to them. She stomped back and started to cry about how they just entered the Grand Line and have to worry about the Seven Warlords.

"He's the weakest, you know?" Luffy questioned from his spot while all eyes turned towards him.

"The weakest? Do you even know what you are saying? He's trying to take over my country! He's a mastermind. He's cunning and ruth. And you are telling me he is the weakest?" Vivi questioned.

"Yea," Luffy nodded, "He's the weakest of the Seven Warlords. Last I heard about him, he was defeat quite pitifully by Whitebeard and is looking for 'powerful' weapons to fight the old man," Luffy seems to be thoughtful before he replied, "I am sure Ace screeched for days about Marco not having enough time for him due to the 'idiot bastard'." Luffy pondered, "At any rate, he is just an overconfident Logia who thinks he owns the world and everything here is for him picking." He stood up as he dusted his pants, "Well, defeating a Warlord will be good for our reputation, so I will help you. But all his treasure will go to us since you can't pay us for our help. Fair enough?" Luffy questioned while Nami cried about her fate and Zoro grinned.


	10. Chapter 10

***Flashback***

Luffy was running laps around Grove 32. It was the last lap that he needed to finish before he would need to make his way to Grove 33 for his usual 'bounty-hunting'. As he was running, he came across the sound of marines shouting. Curious as ever, Luffy made his way calmly towards the source of the noise and found the select group of marines following a woman, chasing her around as she tried to escape. Soon enough, as she was cornered by the group of marines, she crossed her hands in front of her chest and stared at them defiantly. Luffy was wondering where he had seen her before when it clicked in his mind suddenly. 

'That woman -' Luffy stared at the woman in amazement and watched her take down the group of marines before more started to appear and surround her.

"You won't be leaving this place!" One marine shouted and Luffy rolled his eyes. Letting out a small burst of Haki, he watched the marines fell one by one. The woman turned to look at him in shock as she pulled her hands down.

"I could have taken care of them. Why would you help me?" she questioned.

Luffy looked her in question before he asked, "Does one always needs a reason to help someone?" The woman looked down at that before she heard, "Shishishi. I'm Luffy," Luffy pulled his hand forward and smiled at her widely, "Monkey D. Luffy. A fellow demon. Nice to meet you." As the woman looked at her in shock and shook his hand slowly, not missing the point when he called himself a 'demon'. 'Does he know?' she wondered.

"Ne. I will set sail at 17, in four years. Will you be my nakama? You're strong!"

And for the first time in  _years_ , she felt warmth flooding her chest as she stared at the innocent-looking child, asking her to be a part of her crew. "I wouldn't want to burden someone like you. This whole world is my enemy," she whispered.

"The world is your enemy because you can do something that they don't want you to. You can expose it's deepest and darkest secrets. The world is my enemy because of who I am the child of. Well, not now, perhaps, but once the information is released, it  _will_ be my enemy. And even if it will not be, if you do end up joining my crew, I will look after you! Because that's what nakama do right? Friends are temporary. One might forget about them. But nakama is forever." And Luffy grinned wide at her while she looked at the boy with slightly teary eyes, nodding slowly.

***Flashback ends***

 

While Nami was lamenting about her misfortune, Igaram approached the small group dressed up as Vivi. That earned him quite a few strange glances from the four people. Igaram stood carrying three dummies and explained his plan to the lot and asked Vivi for an eternal pose. Nami looked at Luffy in question as she inquired what an eternal pose is.

"It's a permanent log pose, Nami. The regular one will guide us from one island to another, but an eternal one will always point to the same island." Nami nodded at that and Luffy finally stood up from his place, "Zoro. Get Usopp and Sanji to the ship. We will be leaving." Luffy ordered and watched Zoro grumble about why  _he_  had to be the one to get the ero-cook. None-the-less, he started to make his way towards the place the two were sleeping.

But as they stood on the shore and watched Igaram's ship moving farther and farther, the ship exploded at some distance. They all watched in shock and wondered how they could have caught on to it so early. As Vivi shed tears, Luffy activated his Haki and felt his presence and another very familiar presence. He smirked as turned towards Nami, "Nami! Is the log pose ready?" Luffy questioned.

Nami pulled her hand up as she stared at the log pose, "Don't worry. It's okay now."

"Good. Onto the ship, NOW!" Luffy watched them move before he turned towards Vivi and spoke in a low voice, "He's fine. I can feel him. The explosion was not directed to hit him," 

As Zoro dumped their two crewmates on the deck, Luffy jumped on the ship with Nami and Vivi following behind him. Vivi looked around and questioned, "Where's Carue?"

Zoro pointed to the duck standing on the ship and questioned, "You mean this duck? It's been here even before me"

Nami and Vivi gained a tic over their head and screamed, "So you are over there?!"

Luffy looked around and saw everyone was there and asked Zoro to pull up the anchor. Nami ordered Luffy and Zoro around to do the work.

"Be careful not to hit the rock."

"Huh? Thanks!" Nami answered and directed Zoro to man the rudder and avoid it.

Zoro, Nami and Vivi looked at each other with wide eyes and turned to look at the source of the voice in shock. "WHAT?!" They all exclaimed.

"This is a nice ship" A woman answered as she sat on the railings, "I just met Mr. 8 over there... Miss Wednesday" The woman smirked.

"Miss All Sunday!" Vivi exclaimed while Luffy looked on bored, "Why are you here?!" she questioned.

Nami looked at the dark-haired girl and questioned, "Who is she, Vivi? And who is her partner?" Vivi looked at her quietly before she answered, "Mr. 0" The straw-hats, minus Luffy, looked at her in shock and started to back away while Zoro rested his hand on his sword and Luffy yawned.

"Are you done scaring them?" Luffy questioned as he looked at her bored, "I do remember you telling me you will wait at Saboady. What are you doing in this organization, Robin?"

Robin smiled at the straw-hat wearing boy as she jumped down from her spot, "I got a request from someone I can't deny at all."

The others looked at the woman warily and questioned Luffy, "Do you know her, Luffy?"

Luffy nodded at the group and explained, "She will be a part of our crew. It was decided that she will wait for me at Saboady - end of the first half of the Grand Line - and then join us in our journey."

"How can you let someone like her in your crew, Luffy-san?!" Vivi questioned, "She had caused such suffering to the people of my nation!"

Luffy narrowed his eyes at her and spoke in a low, dangerous voice, "I may be helping you,  _princess_ , but under no circumstance think that you can dictate what goes around in  _my_ crew. I have known Robin for the past 4 years. And let me tell you. If she's working with Crocodile, it's probably because someone  _requested_  her to. Don't go around dissing my crew members. Because I won't be so welcoming then," Finally turning towards Robin he questioned, "Will you be joining the crew now?"

Robin looked at him with a bore expression and answered, "I swore to follow you four years back, Captain. When you were only thirteen years old. I told you that if you found me before you reach Saboady, I will follow you happily as ever. I would like to join the crew now," A small smile gracing her lips as she questioned, "Any problems, Cap?"

Luffy grinned as he jumped, "None!". Sanji who had woken up along with Usopp stared at the lady and started to swoon. Zoro finally pulled his hand up, deciding that he does not need to use his swords anymore.

"Captain?" Robin turned towards Luffy and questioned, "Do you know what's the next island?" Luffy looked at her in question and shook his head, he had not bothered to memorize each route because he craved for adventure, "It is Little Garden. Even though I know you are pretty capable of handling yourself... the log pose takes over a year to set over there. I do have an eternal log pose but..." She trailed off and Luffy completed her sentence, "There's probably an ambush waiting for us there. We will be going to Little Garden and see what we could do."

The crew soon left Whiskey Peak with three new additions. As they sailed, Robin, Vivi, and Carue bunked with Nami in her room while Luffy settled in his own cabin, sighing deeply as he turned to face the photo that's always by her bedside. It had been a long time since he had left his home back at Saboady and he was already itching to complete his journey along the first half of the Grand Line and meet his family back home. He missed how each day Rayleigh came to look over his progress. How he would flirt with Hancock, loving the blush that always graced her cheeks. He missed fighting with Ace. Their usual duels to determine who was stronger. Of course, he never beat him. He was just too strong. He missed Shakky who would be the one to take care of his injuries after a nasty brawl with the pirates. He missed the animals - friends - he made on Rusukaina as he stayed there for days, just training to get stronger and stronger. Letting out a sigh, he pulled himself up from his hammock and made his way out on the deck. Sanji was serving drinks to the crew members, Zoro was lifting weights to define his muscles, Robin had found a book and was reading it, Vivi was tense but Nami was consoling the blue-haired girl, telling her to relax, Usopp was working on some experiment on his, and Lucchi was swimming beside the ship slowly, sometimes diving in deep to soothe his stomach.

Sanji turned around, a drink in his hand as he stared at a little creature jumping out of the ocean, "Everyone look at the dolphin," Each member turned to stare at the dolphin in amazement, expressing their feelings as they each let out a 'Wow'. Nami stared at the lovely dolphin and spoke, "That's so cute,"

But as the dolphin jumped over their ship, they looked in horror as they exclaimed, "It's too big!" Luffy laughed out as he ordered, "Pull the ship out of the way!" and the others started to work around, Nami giving the orders as what to do. Finally, with the ship out of dolphin's way, she pulled her hand up to look at the Log Pose pointing to the island in front of them, "The next island is dead ahead of us, everyone!" she called out and they finally noticed the island and cheered for their successful journey till here. They took a river that leads them inside of the island and the crew looked around and wondered why the island is called 'Little Garden'.

Rabin explained it to them, "Because to the inhabitants of this island, it  _is_ a little garden. It's a pre-historic island"

"Pre-historic?" Nami questioned.

"It is home to dinosaurs and two giants."

Nami and Usopp screamed in terror at that. Luffy laughed out loud and extended his senses while closing his eyes. "At the current time, there are about 1000 creatures on this island, not counting the giants. While the Giants are strong, the creatures are not. Zoro, Sanji, Robin, and I can very well handle the creatures."

"You know this because of Haki, don't you, Luffy?" Zoro questioned while Luffy nodded at him. 

"Don't worry, you will be able to do this once you have unlocked and trained your observation Haki. There is two more presence on this island. Hostile presence. So be on your guard." Luffy warned his crew.

"Aye, Aye, Captain," They answered. Sanji turned towards Zoro and spoke, "We did not stock up on the last island. So try to find as much meat as possible. Perhaps 2-3 dinosaurs whose meat we can cut up and store on the ship,"

The straw-hats soon separated. Luffy wanting to look around rocketed himself into the island, feeling childish to do so but he loved the feel of air hitting his face. Vivi, Robin, and Carue followed behind him, trying to keep up to him. Sanji and Zoro got into a little fight about who could hunt the bigger animal and the result being a hunting competition between the two. That left Nami and Usopp the only one on the ship with Lucchi deep in the water having his own snack.

 

***With Luffy and his group***

As Vivi and Robin walked side by side in the direction Luffy went off, one could feel the tension in the air. The blue-haired princess - despite Luffy's earlier words - was not much welcoming of the black-haired woman she had known as Ms. All-Sunday. Robin sighed as she thought to clear the things up and gave a deep apology, "I'm sorry for what I did when I was a spy in Baroque Works" Vivi turned a wary glance at the woman as Robin continued, "I was asked by someone I deeply respect to keep an eye on Crocodile. I can't refuse him, you know? And I had to keep up my part that I am on Crocodile's side. I'm really sorry for what I did back in the organization." Robin apologized.

Vivi sighed as she turned to face Robin and spoke, "You never participated in his plans"

Robin nodded at her and explained, "I love to read books. I wanted something in Alabasta that I had a lead on. But I had no intention to partake in a war. Crocodile needed someone to strategize. I helped and I now know what he plans to do in Alabasta. That is more of a boon, don't you think so, princess?" Robin questioned.

Vivi nodded at her and smiled softly, "You're not that bad," Carue quacked from the sidelines.

Robin and Vivi soon found Luffy who had let his inhibitions go and was enjoying the island. Robin chuckled behind her hand as she watched her captain swing around the island using his rubbery arms to grab onto different branches or dinosaurs' neck. Vivi looked in astonishment, contemplating if this was the same serious person from the ship. Luffy whooped as the head of the dinosaur he was sitting on was suddenly cut by a giant.

Luffy used Geppo to stay in the sky in front of the giant's head and asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Tiny human! Did I just nearly cut you? I'm sorry." the giant apologized.

Luffy huffed and accepted his apology. He went back down on the ground and reached Robin, Vivi, and Carue. The giant introduced himself as Dorry and invited the three to his camp. Luffy looked back at his companions and smiled wide, accepting the offer. While Vivi looked scared to go to a giant's camp, Robin was all too eager to follow her captain.

 

***With Nami and Usopp***

While the others had taken off on the island, Usopp had decided to work on the weapon he and Nami and agreed would be best for her. He was also looking for ideas to improve his own weapon. Nami, on the other hand, had decided to take out another journal from the trunk Luffy had agreed to rent to her. She was busy reading the entries, her eyebrows moving up and up as she read the content of the journal, picking out some of the well-known names from the journal. She wondered who Luffy's mum actually was - or is; she doesn't know. The woman sure did know a lot of well known pirates - considering the names popping up in the entries again and again and it made her wonder who Luffy actually is.

The peaceful silence was broken by the roar of a dinosaur and the two looked up only to screech at the size of the monstrosity in front of them. As they huddled back, trying to get away from the monster, they felt relief coming to them as the dinosaur was taken care of by a giant. They did scream out rather loud when they noticed their savior was a freaking giant.

"Ah, humans." The giant turned to look at the two and introduced himself, "I'm Broggy"

"Nami" the navigator stuttered.

"Usopp" The sniper spoke in a shaky voice, his legs trembling.

"Do you have any alcohol?" The giant questioned

"Just cooking alcohol," Nami answered.

As the two rolled out a barrel of cooking alcohol, Usopp suggested to Nami to play dead and thus the two dropped down on the ground, playing dead. Broggy, thinking they were asleep, carried the two with him wondering if they will like T-rex meat or not.

 

Later the giants explained to the two groups what they had been up to an about their duel. While the ladies looked on in shock, Luffy and Usopp understood the reason behind their still on-going duel. Usopp expressed his amazement, telling Broggy how he wanted to be just like him; a brave warrior of the sea. As time went by and the giants dueled, one by one, the straw-hats were abducted save for Luffy, Robin, Usopp, and Sanji. 

As Usopp was walking around, he found Luffy on the ground with Robin by his side. He rushed towards his Captain and questioned, "What happened?"

Robin told Usopp how Dorry came back with a barrel of alcohol from Broggy. Dorry had moved to drink the whole barrel up in a go which had exploded inside of him. That had enraged the giant who had blamed Luffy for this. As the volcano erupted, Dorry started to move to fight. Even though Luffy tried to stop the giant, the giant had easily over-powered him and that led them to this situation.

As Luffy breathed heavily, regaining his strength, he extended his Observation Haki and his eyes widened. "Shit," he mumbled as he pushed himself up, his sword supporting his weight, his side still hurting from Dorry's blow, "It seems like the two other people on this island had managed to capture Nami, Zoro, and Vivi. Sanji is still far off from them."

Usopp let out a low growl, not liking the thought how the two people interrupted the sacred duel of the giants and how they now had their friends, "Let's get them Luffy," he suggested.

Luffy smiled at the long-nosed sniper. It was the first time since he met Usopp, that the boy had asked to fight, "Let's get them."

When the trio found their abducted crew-mates, they found them stuck to a wax structure with wax raining down on them. A man in glasses with a rather peculiar hair-style looked on and laughed, telling them there is no way they can save their crew-mates because there's no way for them to get rid of the wax.

"Are you done?" Luffy questioned bored. While the man - Mr. 3 - was busy going on and on about his ability, he had not noticed Usopp slipping away from the small group Luffy watched with a small smirk as his sniper took a rope and laid it down, pulling the other end, "Light it, Usopp" He ordered and watched in amusement as his sniper used his weapon to light up the rope and thus melting the wax structure.

"W-Wha-? Ho-? When-?" Mr. 3 stuttered as he watched the long-nosed man use fire to melt his wax away. He felt a shudder going down his spine as he turned to face the straw-hatted boy he was talking to before.

"Going around and turning my crew-mates into wax statues. You sure have been looking for a fight, eh? Then a fight is what you will get," Luffy smirked as he unsheathed his Raiu, coating it in Armament Haki, "Come on. You are not going to chicken out now, are you?" he questioned.

"Do not underestimate me!" Mr. 3 screeched and moved in a defensive position, understanding the graveness of the situation, "Candle Champion" he whispered and a structure of wax surrounded him - his best defense.

Luffy yawned as he looked on bore at the man and simply slashed his blade, easily cutting the wax structure along with the man who went down far too easily for him. He turned to look at the little girl and let out a small burst of Haki directed at her and watched in satisfaction as the girl went down. He smiled at his crew-mates who were finally free of the wax.

 

***With Sanji***

"Wonder what Nami-swan, Vivi-chan, and Robin-chwan are up to" he wondered out loud, his eyes turning into hearts as he swooned. He was currently sitting in the wax igloo he had found and was sipping some tea. "Ah! What am I doing here? I need to find some good dinosaur meat for us! Too bad I had to leave this place. It's rather comfortable," he commented as he looked around the small place. While he made his way to exit the place, the den-den-mushi started to ring.

Sanji looked at the snail and finally pulled the receiver up and answered, "Hello, this is the shitty restaurant. What do you want to order?"

A grumbling voice answered, "Stop playing around, you idiot. Why haven't you send me your report?" The voice questioned.

"Report?" Sanji wondered out loud, "Who is this?" he inquired.

"It's me," The voice answered in annoyance, "Mr. 0"

'Crocodile, huh?' Sanji smirked.

"It's already been quite some time since I sent you your orders, Mr. 3. What is your status?" Crocodile questioned.

'Damnit! I got so caught up in the hunting game. I hope they are all well,' Sanji thought.

Not getting any answer, Crocodile asked in anger, "What are you being silent for? I'm asking you a question. Have you eliminated Princess Vivi and the Straw Hat Pirates or not?!"  
"Yes, I've completed your mission. All the people that know your secret are no more, so there is no need for any further action" Sanji replied with a small smirk.

"I see. Good work," Crocodile answered, "The Unluckies are heading your way and once they confirm your mission's success, they will hand you a package,"

"A package?" Sanji questioned.

"That's right. An Eternal Pose to Amabasta," Crocodile answered.

Sanji turned around and found two animals sitting on the window. As he questioned what they are, the animals pulled out weapons while Crocodile questioned what happened. Thinking fast, Sanji dealt with the two animals, taking the package from them.

"What was that?" Crocodile questioned.

Sanji looked back at the receiver and answered, "Don't worry, it was nothing. One of the Straw Hats turned out to be barely alive and attacked me. I finished him off."

"One was alive," Crocodile seethed, "Didn't you just say that you carried out the mission successfully?"

"I thought I had," Sanji grumbled, "but one of them proved to be more tenacious than I thought,"

"So you gave me a false report." Crocodile stated.

"I suppose that's true if you want to be technical," Sanji answered, "But I really did finish him off this time, so there will be no need for further pursuit"

"Fine, head straight for Alabasta," Crocodile breathed out, "This will be the last time I contact you by den-den-mushi. I can't have marines intercept my calls. From now all, all orders shall be delivered the traditional way, that is all,"

Sanji looked at the den-den-mushi as Crocodile hung up on him and he released a sigh of relief. He pulled the eternal pose out of the package and smirked.

 

***With Luffy's group***

"Gababababababababa" Broggy laughed as he hugged the now sitting Dorry, I can't believe you are alive," he breathed out.

"We've been battling for so long. Our weapons are blunt now," Dorry answered.

Even though the Giants were happy, the others were grumbling and were in a bad mood, considering they have to wait for one fucking year for the lof pose to set. As Sanji ran into the clearing, his eyes found the three ladies and breathed, that he was glad they were well.

"Now he shows up," Usopp muttered. Sanji looked at the giant in shock and questioned if he was Mr. 3. Nami questioned how Sanji knew about Mr. 3.

"A goddess!" Sanji swooned as he took in Nami's top-less form, "About Mr. 3. I was just talking to Crocodile," Sanji smirked and held up the eternal log pose, "I told him we all are dead. They won't be chasing us anymore."

Nami took the log pose from Sanji while Vivi hugged the blonde, expressing her delight. Sanji swooned.

While Sanji and Zoro fought over who won the hunting competition, Luffy ordered them to take their 'conquest' back to the ship and get ready to depart.

"I will definitely go to Elbaf one day!" Usopp yelled as he chased his crew back to the Going Merry.

 

***On the Going Merry***

Luffy ordered Zoro to cut up the meat and Sanji to store it well in the ship. A little time and the Going Merry was sailing the waterway in the Little Garden and out towards the sea. As they began to exit the island, they noticed Dorry and Broggy standing on each side of the exit with their weapons in their hands. They explained the reason why not many crews made out of this island. They asked them to continue to sail forward and Luffy screamed to keep the ship steady and keep moving forward. A large fish came up about ready to swallow to crew along with their ship. Lucchi was sailing beside and too looked at the fish with a wary glance. It was too big even for him. While Nami asked Luffy to change their path, he just smirked and asked the crew to hold on to the railings. The Going Merry sailed straight into the mouth of the giant goldfish as the two giants brought their weapons back. With a swing of their weapons, they let out a flying slash that cut through the goldfish and launched the Going Merry out to sea.

"Thank you!" Luffy shouted from the ship, waving his hand and finally turned back to his crew and smiled wide, "To ALABASTA!" And so they cheered, departing for another great journey.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Sorry for a late update. I had my exams this week.  
> So. I am thinking of giving our dearest sniper a Devil Fruit.  
> Do mention which fruit you would like to see him with. Till next time!

The situation on the Going Merry went from good to bad drastically. As soon as Nami had handed the eternal log pose to Vivi to keep an eye on, she had collapsed on the deck. The sound of her crashing on the deck was followed by another person hitting the deck too. The crew all skidded to a stop as they stared at their fallen members. Sanji made his way towards Nami, pulling her up as his hand touched her forehead and he pulled it back fast as he can because it freaking  _burned_. Usopp had pulled his goggles on and moved to the crow's nest to keep an eye around to see if there was someone targeting them. Zoro made his way towards the other fallen person, Luffy, and pulled the captain up.

He soon took command, being the first mate. "Pull them up in Luffy's cabin. His bed is big enough for the two of them and we need to keep an eye on them." Sanji nodded, deflated that he had to take orders from the shitty marimo but followed it none-the-less. Zoro pulled Luffy up as he dragged the man in his cabin, settling him on the bed. He turned towards Robin and Vivi as he questioned, "Does any of you two have medical knowledge?" 

The two women shook their heads while Zoro sighed. Vivi moved out of the cabin and soon was back with a bowl of water and two washcloths. As she rested the wet washcloth on their forehead, she also pulled out a thermometer to get their temperature. Her eyes popped out as she read Luffy's temperature, "40 degrees! His temperature is too high!" As she moved to take Nami's temperature, the results were the same as Luffy. "This is bad" she panicked, "They need medical attention! Soon!"

Luffy panted as he pulled himself up slowly, "It's alright. I'm f-fine" He coughed.

"Get back down, Luffy! I won't have you dying on us like this! You need medical attention. Soon." Zoro berated his captain as he pushed the man back down on the bed.

"We don't have time Zoro." Luffy panted, his breathing hard, "Pull the first drawer of the table open, Vivi. There's a news clipping" He directed Vivi who moved to pull a news clipping out and stared at it in shock.

"No" she whispered, "This can't be."

"You see now, don't you? We need to get to Alabasta fast." Luffy pushed the washcloth Zoro had put on him away and started to sit up only to feel dizzy.

"For god's sake Luffy, just lay the fuck down!" Zoro screeched.

"Zoro-san." Vivi spoke slowly, "We need this ship to make way to Alabasta as its fastest speed and take down Crocodile."

"Vivi you..." Zoro looked at her as Sanji gaped at her.

"So that's why, we need to find a doctor for Nami and Luffy-san first, right? Because the ship is at its fastest with Nami and we need Luffy-san in good shape to beat Crocodile, right?" She smiled at them while the duo grinned at her.

"You got that right, Vivi-chan. I will go into the kitchen to make something for..." Sanji was cut off as the den-den-mushi started to ring in the room.

The three occupants turned towards the ringing den-den-mushi and looked at it. Luffy, still a bit conscious turned his gaze towards the phone. "Get me the den-den, Zoro" he commanded as the phone continued to ring.

Zoro hesitated before he handed it to Luffy who pulled the receiver up.

"Luffy!" A worried voice soon echoed in the room and continued, "What happened? Are you alright? I and the others were moving through the Calm Belt when I saw your Vivre card! It's half its size!"

"Hancock" Luffy panted and let out a series of coughs as Zoro and Sanji looked at him in worry.

"I'm telling you to lay back, you idiot! You will only worsen your condition like that!" Zoro seethed, his fingers massaging his forehead as he stared down at his petulant captain.

"Who are you to talk to my beloved like that?!" The voice - Hancock - screeched. Her voice soon turned concerned as she spoke in a much softer tone, "What's wrong, Luffy? Shall we come up there? Your vivre card is burning too fast!"

"I-I'm fi-fine" Luffy answered with labored breath, "You don't need to come all the way here, Hancock. I will be fine. It's just a fever"

"A fever you say? Luffy, you never had a fever from all the time I knew you. And I've known you for long."

"I will be fine." Luffy tried consoling her while Sanji looked on in question wondering just who she was.

The den-den let out a sigh, "I do hope you will be well soon, Luffy. I noticed it by chance just now. Rayleigh will believe that you will be fine. But Ace-nii... you know how he gets." The den-den let out a sigh again before it started to speak in its previous angry voice, "You! The one who shouted at my beloved!"

"Me?" Zoro looked at the den-den confused.

"Yes, you! What route did you take?" Hancock questioned.

Zoro scowled but answered none-the-less, "We started from Whiskey Peak and recently left Little Garden. We have some guests on our ship and we are escorting them to Alabasta"

"Alabasta. It's not exactly on Whiskey Peak's route, so you must have an eternal pose, right?" Hancock bit her lip as she thought.

"Yes," Zoro nodded.

"If I am correct, the island before Alabasta is Drum. Isn't it so, Sonia?" Hancock questioned and the snail's features changed as a person answered, "Yes."

"Great" Hancock smiled, "Listen to me, you insolent male! Drum Island is famous for its doctors. Take Luffy there fast! If you are following the log pose to Alabasta from Little Garden, you will find the island easily. It's a winter island. Get to work! If something happened to my beloved, there will be hell to pay!" 

Luffy let out a weak laugh, "Hancock. It's fine. I will be well, don't worry. I always heal fast" 

"Don't go dying on me now" and the call cut off abruptly as Luffy let out a long sigh and lost consciousness.

Vivi looked down at him, and spoke, "That was... different"

Zoro shook his head, "We do not have time to linger on it. Sanji. Prepare some food for them. Vivi. Can you keep an eye on the two of them? We need to find Drum Island. Soon. I will ask Usopp to keep an eye out while Robin searches for what might have caused it."

"Wha-?" came out a weak sound of Nami as all the other three occupants turned towards her. She tried to sit up only to be stopped by Sanji.

Sanji looked at her worriedly as he pushed her back, "You should try to rest, Nami-swan"

"I... I should keep an eye out there." She let out weakly.

"No, you shouldn't. You need to rest. We are changing the ship's direction to the south to go towards the island before Alabasta." Sanji replied and left the room to cook something for the two.

Vivi sat on a stool beside the two, keeping an eye on them as Zoro left the cabin to give orders on what needs to be done. Robin pulled out the stack of medicinal books to look for what might be the cause of the disease while Usopp settled in the crow's nest to keep an eye out for danger. Zoro leaned against the railings of the ship as he sighed deeply. The ship had been turned towards the south and was heading right in the direction the log pose pointed to - Alabasta.

A day passed as such, with no sign of any island and Luffy's and Nami's condition worsening as the time passed by.

"Hey," Usopp called out from the crow's nest as he stared ahead. The members of the crew turned towards him as he questioned, "Have you ever seen someone standing in the middle of the ocean?"

The crew members looked at him in question before Sanji spoke out, "A person standing in the middle of the ocean? Have you gone insane, Usopp?"

Usopp pulled the binoculars up as he stared ahead, "Then, what are you going to call that?"

Zoro and Sanji turned to look ahead and stared at a man standing on the ocean. "The fuck?!" The two exclaimed together while the man spoke in a monotonous voice, "Looks like it's gonna be cold today"

Zoro and Sanji then noticed slight snow falling and grinned, "Cold. Yes, yes it's cold. How lovely, right Robin-chwan?" Sanji questioned, grinning widely.

No sooner than he spoke, a ship emerged from the water pushing Merry back a little. A fat fellow stood up on the deck of the large ship, casually eating a knife as he questioned, "We want to go to drum empire. Do you have any eternal pose?" 

Zoro looked at him warily as he replied, "No we don't. Get lost."

"Huh. I am hungry." The fellow jumped on Merry and was going to take a bite of the railing before Sanji kicked him off the ship, the person landing not on the ship but on the ocean and thus drowning.

"Get lost you shitheads" Sanji growled and watched as the members of the other ship jumped in the ocean to save their dying captain.

"You...!" One of the pirates screeched, "We will be going to help Lord Wapol. But you remember us, you commoner! We will have our revenge!"

"Hai, hai" Zoro drawled out, bored, "Just get lost already"

The rest of the day passed as it is. At night, Luffy woke up and looked around his cabin. Zoro was sleeping on the floor by the door, his swords resting on his shoulder. Nami was sleeping by his side on the bed and Carue was by his bedside. As he extended his senses, he found the others not far away from the door to his cabin. He smiled softly before he lay back down on the bed, falling asleep.

The next day as Sanji woke up, he felt a chill went down his spine and looked out of the room they were sleeping in to see snow falling. It was much colder than it was the last day and he called out to Robin who was keeping the watch the last night, "Robin-chwan~! Are we close to an island?" 

"Hai, Sanji-kun. There is an island straight ahead of us. Can you wake the others up?" Robin questioned sweetly causing a purring, "Hai, Robin-chan~!" from Sanji as he moved to wake the others up. Soon, the crew members - par Luffy, Nami, and Vivi - were on the deck as they stared at the island they were approaching. Vivi was keeping an eye on the sick while the others stood on guard as they finally entered the island they have been approaching.

"Be on your guard, everyone. We do not know what awaits us." Robin spoke while the other nodded, "Vivi must know more about Drum than me. I will swap places with her" and so she moved in to keep an eye on Luffy and Nami while Vivi moved on the deck beside Sanji and Zoro.

"Who will be going to find the doctor?" Zoro questioned.

"I will come with you. We need someone to carry both Nami-swan and Luffy." Sanji took a drag from his cigarette, letting out a puff of smoke, staring at Zoro determined.

Zoro turned towards Usopp who answered shakily, "Perhaps I should stay here and guard the ship?" Zoro nodded at him while he turned towards Luffy' cabin, "We will take Robin with us. She is a good fighter, as Luffy commented before."

The others nodded as the ship continued to sail in the small river leading them in the island. A voice suddenly spoke out, "That's as far as you go, pirates!" That caught the attention of everyone. When they looked up, they saw that they were surrounded by people on both sides of the waterway armed with guns all aimed at them. 

Zoro narrowed his eyes as he stared at the group of people. "Guess we found the people" Sanji commented dryly.

"They don't seem friendly at all though" Usopp commented from the sideline.

A man dressed in a green coat stepped forward and spoke, "I will only say this once. Your kind is not welcomed here" Speaking in a commanding voice that caused Zoro to give him an indifferent look - not that he gives other strangers any other type of look.

"Listen," Zoro started gaining the man's attention, "We only came here to find a doctor"

"We have two sick people on our ship!" Vivi shouted in order to help Zoro convince them.

A man holding a rifle pulled it up as he aimed it at them, "Do better than that, pirate! We won't fall for a cheap trick like that"

"This is our land! We won't let you pirates destroy it!"

"Raise anchor and leave!"

"We will blow your ship and you out of the water!"

And so they continued to shout...

"Please!" Vivi shouted as she looked at the straw-hats starting to get angry as the civilians fired at them, "We don't mean any harm! We just need a doctor."

Zoro clicked his tongue from beside her, his hand resting on his Sandai Kitetsu as he glared at them. That glare did cause people to step back. He was stopped by Vivi who took a hold of his hand, "Mr. Bushido! Fighting will not help us! It won't solve anything!" she yelled before she finally let go of Zoro's hand and moved to kneel in front of the people, "Please! we need a doctor. The captain and navigator of the ship are both sick. We won't come ashore! We just need a doctor. They are dying from a serious illness! Please, I'm begging you!" Vivi begged while the crew looked at her in surprise.

It was then that Zoro turned back towards the people and bowed his head. The crew members looked at him in shock as he bowed in front of him. They all know how hard-headed Zoro can be. To bow in front of people... that was not what one expected Zoro to do. "Please help us" Zoro spoke softly.

The man dressed in a green coat looked at them before he spoke quietly, "I will show you the way to our village"

The straw-hats rejoiced. Zoro turned towards Usopp, "Stay here with Carue. Me, Sanji, and Robin will take Luffy and Nami with us to the village." Usopp nodded as Zoro made his way towards Luffy's cabin followed by Sanji. 

As the two entered, they found Robin sitting and looking at them. She smiled at the two and nodded when Zoro told her she will be accompanying them. Stepping forward, Zoro covered Luffy in a coat and pulled him up. Sanji did the same with Nami as the two carried them off the ship with Robin following behind them.

After walking for quite some time, the man leading them turned towards the small group, "I feel I should warn you about something. The only doctor that we have here is actually a witch"

Sanji and Zoro stumbled as they heard it, "A witch?!" they exclaimed. "I thought Drum was famous for its doctors" Zoro wondered.

"A lot has changed over the years." The man commented, "This is just an island with no name now." Finally, they reached the village. "This is the village we live in. Its name is Bighorn." The group looked around the small village and couldn't help but be impressed by its beauty. "My house is just over here. You can bring them here" 

And so the small group made their way towards the house. The man told them that they could use the bed over the side where Zoro and Sanji put Luffy and Nami on, covering them with the blanket the man provided. The man then introduced himself as Dalton, captain of the island security squad.

"Please forgive our rude welcome" Dalton bowed.

"It's alright" Zoro added, "Can you tell us about this witch or doctor that you have here?" 

"The Witch. Can you see the mountains up there?" Dalton pointed, "Those mountains out there are known as the Drum Rockies. Look closely, do you see the castle up there on the tallest one, the one in the middle?" Dalton questioned causing Zoro and Sanji to look closely, "That castle has lost its king. That castle is where our land's only doctor lives" Dalton added.

"The fuck?!" Sanji exclaimed, "Of all places, she has to live there?! We need to call her now! Luffy and Nami need help. Their temperature is too high." Sanji looked at the two with concern showing on his face.

"I'm sorry, there's no way to contact her," Dalton added remorsefully.

"You can't be serious" Robin spoke up, "What kind of a doctor she really is?!" Her hand moved to push Lussy's hair back from where they were clinging to his sweaty forehead.

"Her skills as a doctor are quite impressive actually. However, she is an eccentric old woman. She is nearly 140 years old" Dalton spoke causing the group to look at him with wide eyes.

"What happens when people are sick and needs her help?" Zoro questioned.

"She comes down occasionally and looks for patients and treats them. Before she leaves she takes whatever she wants from their houses as payment"

"Sounds like a pirate" Sanji commented dryly.

"We can't wait here for her to come down" Zoro clicked his tongue, "Seems like we have to climb a mountain"

"Wait, Zoro!" Robin exclaimed. "Don't be so hasty. Surely she won't climb up and down a mountain each time she comes to visit?" Robin questioned before she turned to Dalton, "Is there always a town where she comes first or visits at the last?" 

"Come to think of it, there's no particular town she will visit first. But she always visits Gyasta at last." Dalton wondered.

"There must be a short way to get to the castle. Zoro, Sanji, can you carry Luffy and Nami with us? We will be leaving for Gyasta." 

"Hai, Robin-chwan~!" Sanji swooned and pulled Nami up and Zoro started to carry Luffy on his back.

"Hang in there, Captain" Zoro added as he carried Luffy.

When the group finally reached Gyasta after a short time, Robin started to look around, questioning the villagers is they saw Kureha moving around or where they see her at last. Finally gaining the information she needed, Robin led them towards a house to find a rope tied to it and leading up. Smirking, she noticed a lift at the end of the rope. Sanji swooned as he commented on her intellect while Zoro stepped up in the lift followed by the others. 

As they finally stepped out of the lift on the mountain, they stared at the castle as Robin went in to check around. Dalton had stayed down in the village. She came back out looking dejected.

"No one's here. It seems like we need to wait for them." 

Zoro scowled as he adjusted Luffy's weight on his back, "We will wait. For this Witch."


	12. Chapter 12

While Zoro and Sanji supported Luffy and Nami's weight respectively, Robin looked around in the castle for someplace where her crew members can relax. After some time, she happened upon a room with two beds and multiple books on a shelf. Robin moved out of the room on the first floor and peered down to look at Zoro and Sanji.

"Swordsman-san, Sanji-kun. There's a room up here where Luffy and Nami can rest. Bring them up here, please?" Robin smiled at them while the two moved up to the first floor where Nami and Luffy can rest.

The beds in the room were lined side-by-side. As Zoro lay Luffy down on his bed, Luffy's eyes opened slightly as he stared at the people around drowsily. "Hey, Luffy. Don't worry, okay? The doc will be here soon." Sanji smiled at Luffy warmly, bending down as he patted his Captain's head.

"Sabo?" Luffy looked at Sanji, his vision blurred as the memories of the long-before past sprung in his mind. His voice hopeful as he struggled to keep his eyes open, not wanting to lose the warm feeling in his heart. The memory of his separated brother nagging his mind.

Sanji looked down at Luffy, blinking as he wondered who this 'Sabo' was. Their crew does not know much of anyone's past. They never cared to know each other's past. They are happy as it is. But the way his Captain looked at him and spoke his name... not his name. No, spoke this  _Sabo's_  name. The way he said it... Sanji felt the person is very dear to his Captain. Dear and someone his captain had parted ways with. Because he knows. Oh, how he knows how it feels... "Rest here for us, eh Luffy? You will be well soon enough" Luffy gave him a weak smile as he passed out yet again.

It has been two hours since Robin, Zoro, and Sanji arrived at the top of the Drum Rockies with sick Luffy and Nami to find a doctor to heal them. They had been waiting for two hours for the doctor to show up but she has yet to show. Robin was standing out of the castle, her hands crossed in front of her chest as she used her power to keep a lookout near the lift to catch her. Finally catching the sight of an old witch riding on a  _fucking_  sleigh with a reindeer up the rope.

"Finally" she spoke out as she turned her head towards the side and five minutes later, she saw two figures walking through the snow towards her. One was an old lady while the other was a reindeer. The woman had a bottle of wine in her hand while the reindeer had a distinct blue nose and wore a top hat.

"Ara. Chopper, it would seem we have a guest." The woman spoke. The reindeer looked at Robin with narrowed eyes. 

Robin turned towards the woman and questioned, "Are you Doctor Kureha?" She pulled her hands down and dusted the snow off himself.

"That I am but you can call me Doctorine. Have you come here for the secret to my youth?" Kureha questioned with a smile.

"No, but I brought two of my friends here who are suffering from a terrible illness. By the looks of it, they both caught the same disease" Robin answered as she stood in front of the two.

"That so?" Kureha questioned as she walked forward, "I don't come cheap you know" she added with a smirk.

"Money is no issue" Robi stated, "Just save my friends"

"Lead the way then" Kureha stretched her hand forward and Robin started to lead them to the first floor where Zoro and Sanji were keeping an eye on Luffy and Nami.

"Got the doc" Robin smiled sweetly at Zoro and Sanji while the two nodded at her. Robin caught Sanji looking at Luffy with a curious expression. When she raised her eyebrows to question him, he just shook his head telling it was nothing.

"Now, what do we have here?" Kureha questioned as she pressed her index finger against Luffy's forehead for a few seconds before she spoke again, "A temperature of 107. This is serious. Let's see that young lady" she moved to press her finger against Nami's forehead and spoke again, "107."

The three straw-hats looked at her with wide eyes. "She just..." Sanji whispered in shock.

"Touched her forehead and got her temperature.." Robin spoke, shocked while Zoro looked on curiously, keeping his comments to himself.

"We checked the two. Nami has a rash on her stomach while Luffy has a rash at the back of his neck" Zoro supplied, causing the doctor to pull Nami's sheets back to check her rash and turn Luffy's head to do the same.

"My, now this is something I have not seen in a while" She turned towards the three and screeched, "What the hell were you doing on a pre-historic island?!" 

The three chuckled, "We took Whiskey Peak's path when we entered the Grand Line. The second island was Little Garden. It's not like we have much choice." Sanji grumbled, "Do you know what they have?"

"Yes I do" Kureha nodded, "They were bitten by a bug called Kestia. Chopper." she called out.

Chopper moved slowly towards Luffy and stared at the rash before he spoke up, "Kestia is a poisonous tick that thrives in jungles with high heat and humidity." The three looked at the small talking-human-like reindeer in shock, "When it bites you, it injects a type of bacteria into your body. The bacteria lay dormant for five days causing severe pain, high fever, mild carditis, and arthritis. Given the infection's progression and the spot of infection, I would say his case is much more severe than the girl's. The rash is too close to his arteries."

"You can talk?" Zoro looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Shut it! I don't want to hear a thing from you humans." Chopper huffed, "The pain they are going through would have been gone in two days"

"You mean they would have been pain-free in two days?" Robin questioned, shocked.

"That's right. Because they would be dead in two days" Kureha answered causing all their eyes to go wide.

"You can treat them, can't you? We don't care about money. He is our Captain and she is our navigator" Sanji questioned hoping she will say yes.

"I can. And so can Chopper. Chopper, you will be treating the two of them. They are your patients," Kureha told Chopper.

"Yes, Doctorine" Chopper nodded and Kureha pushed the three out of the room. Chopper soon gets to work, pulling the antibiotics out as he readied to cure them.

"So he's a doctor" Zoro looked at the closed door while he questioned Kureha.

"He is my apprentice. I taught him everything I know about the field of medicine" she spoke proudly with a smile.

"Interesting. He's either a mink or he ate a devil fruit." Robin spoke out as she too stared at the closed door.

"A devil fruit user," Kureha answered as she took a swig of her wine, "His story is quite sad if you ask me." She lamented.

"Can you tell us about him?" Sanji questioned, "He seems to hate humans from his reaction to the shitty marimo"

Kureha sighed as she ushered the three of them with her in an isolated room. As she settled down on a chair, taking a swig of her wine, she started to tell them about Chopper's past. Sanji and Robin's face fell as they continued to listen while Zoro had his usual indifferent look on his face. But if one looks close enough, they can notice how he would cringe in between when he heard about people attacking Chopper and calling him a monster. He was no stranger to people calling him a devil. A demon. A monster. It never affected him, though. But to a person who had been abandoned by his pack, a person who just wants to be accepted for what he was, it must be rather hard. And Zoro cringed at the small-mindedness of the people of Drum Kingdom.

After an hour, which felt like a freaking lifetime, Chopper came out of the room and told Kureha that he was done. Kureha went to check up on the patients and came out smiling rather smug at Chopper. The reindeer blushed and made his way towards a washroom to wash his hands.

Sometime later as Luffy and Nami rest in their respective bed with Sanji keeping an eye on them, Chopper approached Zoro and Robin nervously. They both smiled at him warmly. Chopper moved to sit beside Robin, looking down at his paws and the silence prevailed for five minuted before he finally spoke up, "Are you really pirates?"

"Aye," Zoro answered as he rested his hands behind his head and stared at the small reindeer, "That we are Chopper. Nothing's better than the life of a pirate. Though I have not been one for a long time."

"Why not?" Chopper questioned as he looked at the swordsman curiously. These human spiked his curiosity. They make him remember what Doctor told him about the pirates all those years back. Back when he didn't know medicine as he knows now.

"You see, I started my journey as a swordsman to become the best of them all. I wanted to defeat the strongest swordsman in the world to take his title. Luffy found me when I was in a tight spot." Zoro smiled warmly as his thoughts went back to the time when Luffy found him and offered him a chance to join him, "People called me the demon of the East Blue. A bounty Hunter that left nothing alive." He chuckled dryly, "But Luffy saw past it. He extended his hand and gave me an opportunity. And I followed him. But on the journey till here, however short it may have been, I have enjoyed it immensely. We are free to do what we want. We go on adventures. We have no rules - unless of course, our captain set some. Just the open seas and the never-ending adventure"

Chopper looked at him in awe and spoke in an astonished tone, "Wow, pirates really go on adventures?"

Robin nodded from beside Zoro, "Of course, we do. Do you know that we entered Grand Line through a mountain? The stream of water flows up the mountain and back down. I have heard from Luffy that it's a great experience."

"Realy? That's so cool" Chopper's eyes shone brightly as Robin continued to tell the small reindeer about the different adventures one could have in Grand Line while Chopper listened with rapt attention.

Kureha looked at the two from behind and wondered if they can heal Chopper's broken heart.

"I'm Chopper" Chopper introduced himself shyly.

"Well, Chopper, I am Robin. This is our swordsman, Zoro" Robin introduced herself and Zoro. "Can you please tell us about how Luffy and Nami are doing?" Robin questioned.

"The treatment was administered properly. They both need at least two hours of rest before they wake up" Chopper answered.

"Ho? Then our Captain must be waking up in half an hour, huh" Robin smiled wide.

"Half hour? I said it will take two hours!" Chopper spoke up, thinking she heard wrong.

"I know you said two hours, chopper. But my Captain, Luffy, is a very fast healer. I have seen him recover at a speed which is almost inhumane. Believe me, he will be up in half an hour as if nothing happened." Robin smiled wide while Zoro grinned.

"R-Really? I have never heard of any human healing that fast" Chopper looked surprised.

"Ne Chopper, why do you refer to us a human? And how are you able to talk?" Zoro asked as if Kureha never told him a thing.

"Well, you see I ate a devil fruit. Hito-Hito no mi." Chopper spoke sadly.

"Why are you so sad about it?" Robin questioned in a curious voice, even though she knew the reason. The little reindeer looked at Robin for a while but never spoke up. "I ate a devil fruit too, you know?" Robi smiled at him.

"Really?" Chopper asked in a surprise.

"Uh huh. Our Captain too. He is really powerful because of his devil fruit. I ate Hana-Hana no mi." she crossed her hands in front of her chest as she sprouted a hand on Chopper's stomach and tickled him causing him to laugh.

"Wooow" Chopper breathed as Robin stopped showing off her devil fruit, "It's really cool!" 

"Wait till you see our Captain fight. He is on a whole different level" Robin added while Chopper answered with a 'Really?'

"Aye. I once saw him cutting down a ship in two parts with his sword." Chopper's eyes shone brightly at that.

"My powers are not cool though" Chopper lamented.

"Every power has good and bad things, Chopper. Never let it bring you down" Zoro patted Chopper slowly, "People tend to fear what they know nothing about." Chopper looked up at him sharply, his eyes widening, "Never let what other thinks about you define you, Chopper. We are what we strive to be. So what if people call me a demon on East Blue. If being powerful and displaying that power takes me closer to my goal and let me protect those we care about, I am happy to be called a demon. I  _will_  be a demon for that."

Chopper nodded tearfully while Robin giggled behind her hand. "Say Chopper, have you ever considered being a pirate?" Robin questioned.

"A pirate? No. Why would I be a pirate?" Chopper questioned.

"Because being a pirate is the best thing in the world!" A voice spoke from behind Chopper who turned and stared at Luffy before he screamed loudly.

"What are you doing up? How the hell are you even able to walk? You should be in bed!" Chopper screamed as he stared at Luffy.

"You beat my expectations, Captain. I thought it will take 5 more minutes for you to be up." Robin chuckled.

"I told you, people, I will be fine" Luffy huffed and stared down at Chopper, "He the one who healed me?" Luffy questioned as he stared at Chopper curiously.

"Aye," Zoro answered.

"Haah. He's so cute!" Luffy grinned, "I've decided." 

"Decided?" Robin questioned, knowing full well what to expect.

"Aye! Chopper will be joining us as our doctor!" Luffy grinned and soon Sanji came rushing out screaming Luffy was missing when he finally spotted the raven boy.

"The hell are you doing out of the bed, you shitty captain?!" Sanji screeched.

"Recruiting" Luffy grinned and Chopper started to back off saying he won't be joining. This led to a chase game with Luffy chasing Chopper around in the castle, asking him to join him repeatedly.

Later, Chopper ran into the castle as he screamed, "Doctorine! There is trouble! Wapol is back!" In the middle of their chase, Chopper had ventured out of the castle to lose Luffy. That was when he noticed the former king of Drum.

"He survived," Sanji noted as he stared at Wapol who walked as if he owned the fucking place.

"Survived? Do we know him, Sanji?" Luffy questioned as he put his straw-hat over his head and stared at Wapol curiously.

"Tch. He tried to eat Merry. I kicked him off the ship" Sanji clicked his tongue.

"He was looking for Drum when we first encountered him" Zoro added, "Of course, we didn't tell him we had a way to reach Drum"

"Eat Merry, huh? Zoro, you're with me. Sanji, Robin, stay with Nami" Luffy ordered as his straw-hat covered his eyes.

Robin looked at him hesitant to follow the order, "Should you really be fighting, Luffy? You were really sick"

Luffy smiled at her warmly, "Don't worry. I feel fine. Why don't you call Hancock and tell her that, Robin? It will ease her worries. Oh, wait. Don't do that." Luffy groaned, "I will call her when we get back on the ship"

Robin giggled, "She's a very jealous woman. I will leave it to you, Cap" Robin and Sanji soon left to be by Nami's side.

Luffy and Zoro turned to make their way downstairs with a serious look on their face. When they arrived outside, they saw Chopper and Kureha talking to Wapol and his two goons. Luffy decided he did not want to beat around the bush and spoke out loud, "I don't mean to interrupt but Wapol is mine" 

"How dare you!" the man dressed as a jester yelled, "How dare you speak to Wapol-sama like he is some lowly commoner. He is a king!" 

Luffy rolled his eyes and yawned while Kureha berated him to be moving around from the sidelines, "Don't expect me to give him any type of respect. The fucking 'king' of yours tried to eat  _my_  ship. I don't take someone harming the things I cherish like that. So, I will be giving him a king-sized ass-whooping. Enjoy the show"

Zoro turned towards Luffy and questioned can he take one of them. Luffy chuckled dryly, "Take care of both his goons, Zoro. You don't even need to go all out on them."

"Aye, captain" Zoro grinned devilishly and turned to Chopper, "You are no monster, Chopper. Allow us to show you how a monster looks like." Grinning, Zoro unsheathed his Kitetsu and held it firm in his hand. Zoro held Kitetsu horizontally above the shoulder of his sword arm and then performs a circular swing that launched a compressed air projectile spiraling towards the two goons as he whispered, "Ittoryu: Sanjuroku Pound Ho (36 Pound Phoenix)"

Luffy looked at Zoro in pride, knowing the swordsman must have been training all the time he was ill because it's the first time he saw the attack. The strike had landed perfectly on the goons and the two staggered back and soon fell down, unconscious.

Chopper looks on with wide eyes ad the two goons fell with a single strike. Zoro clicked his tongue, "Not even a warm up. How  _weak_  can one be?" Luffy looked at Zoro with his eyebrows raised.

"I don't think they are weak, Zoro" Luffy just grinned wide, "I think we are just too strong for them" Laughing, Luffy covered his fist in armament haki and whispered, "Soru". As Luffy vanished, Wapol looked around wondering where the straw-hatted boy went. Luffy soon appeared right in front of Wapol, his fist colliding with the former king's stomach as he went down. Luffy checked the man over, taking any valuables he can with him. Finding only a set of keys, Luffy took it before he stared at the three fallen members of the former kingdom.

"You people are so strong" Chopper breathed out, "You beat them as if they were nothing"

Luffy turned and grinned at the reindeer, "Of course we are! I am trained by the best. Ne, ne, Chopper. Join us! It will be so much fun! We will go on adventures together!"

"I can protect those I care about like you?" Chopper questioned shyly.

"Aye! We pirates protect our treasures! I'm sure you will be able to protect them if you train with us to become much stronger than you already are!" Luffy grinned before he turned to look at the three fallen forms. "I don't like them." smirking, Luffy stretched his leg back and delivered a powerful kick to each of them, sending the three flying in different directions. "Done. Let's go check how Nami is doing!"

Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, and Kureha moved in the castle towards the room Nami was resting in. They soon found Sanji and Robin on guard while Nami still slept. Chopper continued to shift on his feet nervously as he stared between Luffy and Kureha.

"I kept telling you brat to rest! What the hell are you doing up so soon!" Kureha screeched as she pushed Luffy on the bed. She soon pushed her finger against Luffy's forehead and pulled it back, a confused expression on her face. "You don't have a fever anymore"

"I told you I was feeling fine! I heal fast!" Luffy huffed as he stared at her defiantly.

As Kureha looked at him with a frown on her face, Nami let out a weak groan and started to wake up soon. As Nami woke up, everyone smiled at her widely, Sanji swooned as he held his hands over his heart and spoke out, "Nami-swan~! I've been so worried about you! It's such a lovely sight to see you up already~!"

"You and captain gave us quite a scare, Nami" Robin added.

"The witch is up, eh? We can finally leave soon" Zoro added.

"Aye! We got a doctor too!" Luffy grinned wide.

Robin's eyes widened at that, "You made him agree to come with us, Luffy?" When Luffy answered with an 'Aye', Robin shook her head, "I should have known. You have an uncanny ability to attract people to yourself."

"Shishishi, we got a doctor Robin! The coolest doctor ever!" 

"Shut up, you asshole! You praising me does not makes me happy!" Chopper spoke out, his cheeks red as he danced contradicting his words. Luffy laughed out loud while Kureha smiled.

"He talks!" Nami gasped as she stared at Chopper

"See? Isn't he cool, Nami? He's a reindeer who ate a devil fruit! And a doctor too!" Luffy pulled Chopper up, hugging the reindeer to his chest who blushed heavily.

"Cool indeed." Nami smiled softly, "I'm feeling well, Captain. When will we be leaving?" Nami questioned.

Luffy looked down at Chopper in his arms and raised his eyebrows, "Your call, Doctor Chopper."

"Ah-" Chopper stared at Nami before people burst into the room. Luffy turned around, holding Chopper in his arms protectively as he noticed not-so-good looks the people were giving Chopper.

"Doctorine! What happened to Wapol?" one of the men questioned.

"Wapol? I sent him flying" Luffy shrugged while the men and women gaped at him.

Dalton stepped forward as he questioned, "Is it true?" When Luffy nodded, Dalton added, "We are eternally grateful to you for that. How are you doing? You were quite ill when you docked here."

"I'm feeling fine. Chopper, how soon can we leave?" Luffy questioned.

"Ah, we can leave when you want. While you are all well miraculously, Nami needs her rest." Chopper responded and added shyly, "And if I come with you, I can keep an eye on her."

"You heard her, guys! We will be leaving now! Sanji, help Nami!" Luffy grinned and soon they departed from the castle with Chopper sharing a tearful farewell with Kureha.

Luffy had handed the keys he found with Wapol to Kureha since it was of no use to him. Of course, Nami managed to make Kureha agree to have it as a payment to treat them.

As the straw-hats made their way down the Drum Rockies on Chopper's sled, they heard Cannon fire. When Chopper stopped in between and everyone stared back, wondering if they were being attacked. Soon, bright pink smoke light appeared above the Drum Rockies making Luffy turn his gaze to Chopper only to find the little reindeer staring up at the pink smoke with tears in his eyes.

"A fitting send-off, don't you think?" Luffy questioned.

Chopper, not being able to hold it in anymore, cried out loud, "DOCTORRRRRR!" Tears pooled in his eyes as he stared at the pink sky.

"Beautiful" Nami whispered as he caught a pink snowflake.

"Indeed" Robin agreed and stared at the sky.

'Your dream came true, Doctor' Chopper thought as he caught a snowflake and started to run down the slope towards the ship as Zoro told him it was near Bighorn, 'Now I will make my dream come true.'

As the group landed on Merry, Luffy started to command, "Prepare to set sail!" Usopp had hugged him as they landed on the ship while Vivi and Carue smiled from behind.

As Luffy moved to stand on the deck, facing his crew as he smiled widely, "We have deflected from our course. So we will be moving towards Alabasta at full speed now!" The crew grinned at him, Sanji lighting his cigarette, "Hoist the anchor!" Luffy yelled as Zoro raised the anchor. "Release the sails!" Luffy grinned as Usopp and Sanji untie the sails causing it to catch the wind. As the sails caught the wind, the ship began to move forward sailing out of the waterway leaving Chopper's homeland.

"Should I begin preparing dinner?" Sanji questioned.

Luffy nodded enthusiastically as he looked at Chopper, "Prepare a feast for our newest nakama!" Everyone smiled wide at that.

That night the straw-hats partied for their latest addition. Luffy showed Chopper around the ship, showing him his quarters along with Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp. Later that night, Luffy finally ventured into his cabin as he called Hancock.

"Hey" he breathed out as he laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Luffy~! I'm  _so_  glad you are well! Your vivre card was burning up so fast before. It's almost up to its original size now." the den-den cheeks reddened as it tried to copy Hancock's expressions.

"I'm sorry I worried you, my fair maiden" Luffy grinned, "I'm all well now. I heard you helped my crew to find Drum. Thank you!"

"Ahhh~! You called me your fair maiden! Luffy~!" Hancock swooned much like Sanji causing Luffy to chuckle.

"I miss you, Hancock" Luffy whispered as he closed his eyes.

"That's the 123769022nd time you called me by my name, Luffy~!" Hancock blushed deep which caused Luffy to splutter as he questioned how can she even remember a figure like that?! "I miss you too, my beloved~! Ahh... how I wish to be by your side, nursing you back to health."

Luffy laughed loudly as heard it, "I'm sure you will love it, Miss. Most-Beautiful-Woman-In-The-World" Luffy grinned cheekily.

"I do not care of people complimenting me on my beauty unless it's you, Luffy~!" Hancock lay on her bed at Amazon Lily, her hand over her chest.

Luffy grinned as he knows just what exactly she will be up to as they finish their call. "Just wait a little more, my dearest Hancock. Wait till I am back home. I will be showering you with compliments~!" 

"Ahhh~! I love when you compliment me, Luffy. I will be waiting patiently for you here, Luffy!" Hancock answered.

"I will see you then, Hancock. Also, introduce you to my crew." Luffy added.

"Ah! I almost forgot to tell you!" Hancock spoke up suddenly.

"Forgot to tell me?" Luffy questioned.

"Yes. Luffy... Ace-nii is in Paradise with Marco-nii" The snail's features turned serious.

"Both of them? I will look into it, Hancock! See yaa!" Luffy grinned as he cut the call as he wondered what could cause both Ace and Marco to come to Paradise. Together. Especially when they are from the different crew.

'What could have happened?' Luffy thought as he drifted off to sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided on Usopp's fruit and it will be canon.  
> Shout out to Guest(PS) Review on AO3 for the Sabo scene! 


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